Mayor Wants To Use Police To Nab Truants Geraghty Also Proposes Curfew For Convicted Teen Troublemakers

Reacting to recent youth violence in Spokane, Mayor Jack Geraghty wants City Council members to “crack down” and support a nighttime curfew.

The mayor also wants tougher handling of truants in the six-point plan he handed council members Monday.

Geraghty says his proposal can make a difference in Spokane’s rising teenage crime rate.

“We certainly need to do a better job addressing this problem than we’re doing now,” Geraghty said. “I’m concerned about what I’ve seen this summer and I’m ready to move on this.”

It was the first time Geraghty has stepped forward with such a detailed proposal for change since he took office two years ago.

He outlined his plan in a five-page report and delivered dozens of copies to city officials Monday, hoping to gain support before the council meeting.

The mayor wants the city to pay for two more police officers who would work full time at a truancy center being set up by the Spokane School District.

The officers would look for teenagers who skip school and bring them to the Havermale Alternative Center on West Knox, where they would attend class before being picked up by their parents.

Assistant Police Chief David Peffer said the center could help redirect youths just starting to test the law.

“We might get ahold of them before they start making some real bad choices,” Peffer said.

Juvenile Court Director Tom Davis said making school a condition of probation when youths are released is another option.

When teenagers on probation are caught skipping school, the truancy center could alert juvenile court and a probation violation could be filed, Davis said. That would put them back behind bars.

“It’d be quick and it’d help the center be more efficient,” he said.

Geraghty also asked council members to create a curfew for teenagers with criminal records. Those youths wouldn’t be allowed outside after 10 p.m.

“(The curfew) will not penalize those young people who are lawabiding but will, if effectively enforced, send a strong message to the habitual offenders,” Geraghty wrote in his proposal.

City attorneys are researching the issues of a curfew now, he said.

Peffer said the idea needs “a lot of refining.”

Figuring out where police would take the curfew-breakers is one problem, he said.

“We can’t take them to jail and we can’t take them to juvenile (detention),” Peffer said, unless the youths are committing a crime while they’re out late.

“So it comes down to taking them home or to a center where other people could track down the parents. Either way it ties up a lot of police time baby-sitting.”

Spokane County commissioners also explored the idea of a curfew last week. They suggested violators be given tickets and not taken to already crowded jails. If minors didn’t pay their tickets, they could lose their driving privileges.

Other proposals on Geraghty’s list include asking residents to set up programs in their neighborhoods that address youth crime. Volunteers at local community oriented police substations know what would work best in their areas, he said.

Inviting teenagers to meet regularly with city officials on a task force to resolve youth violence issues is another proposal. Geraghty also wants new city ordinances that would help police enforce gun laws more aggressively, especially when youths are found with weapons.

The mayor said finding money for his proposals wouldn’t be a problem.

“I don’t mean to sound cavalier, but this is a top priority in this community,” Geraghty said. “We’ll find the money to get this done.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BATTLE PLAN

Mayor Jack Geraghty’s six proposals to fight youth violence: Two police officers for a north Spokane truancy center. A selective 10 p.m. curfew for youths 16 and under with criminal records. More coordination within the criminal justice system to target juvenile problems. Customized programs to fight violence in each city neighborhood. A youth task force to meet regularly with city officials. More aggressive enforcement of laws addressing kids and guns.