The detainment of 31 juveniles for curfew violations and illegal activity following Friday night football games prompted the William S. Hart Union High School District governing board to have a brief conversation Wednesday about possible solutions aimed to lessen the problem.
During board reports, Castaic High School student Claire Angles, the district’s student board member, identified the juveniles detained in a recent Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station illegal activity operation as students and said it was reported that those detained sustained injuries after being handcuffed.
According to an SCV Sheriff’s Station post shared on its social media platforms, “31 juveniles were detained for curfew violations; one vehicle was towed; one e-bike was impounded.”
The operation was part of the station’s “ongoing commitment to youth safety and maintaining peace in our neighborhoods,” the post read.
But Angles questioned whether that was the right way to tackle the problem and said that one of her friends who was volunteering in sports medicine went to a local In-N-Out Burger following a game. Angles said that even though her friend was not causing any trouble, the friend was stripped of personal belongings and put in handcuffs.
“What could be done to kind of prevent this?” she asked. “Kind of makes me wonder (about) the relationship that we’re fostering between the police and students within the Hart district.”
Deputies have responded to numerous reports about illegal activity involving juveniles at the local burger spot and city parks, which prompted city officials to discuss the issue during last week’s City Council meeting. Officials stated there have been complaints in relation to large groups of teens gathering after hours, drinking, and causing noise disturbances.
Hart district governing board member Joe Messina brought up the ongoing issue of e-bikes following a spike in their popularity, which has also been brought up in conversation during previous City Council meetings as well.
“Parents are upset about the e-bikes and the police enforcing the e-bike laws,” he said which was something he was in full support of because “I’ve almost hit two kids on those bikes because they’re going quickly, they’re going on the sidewalks.”
“This is not just a bike,” Messina said. “Not only is it illegal. It’s dangerous.”
He then pitched the idea of more public service announcements given during school hours for students.
In response to the curfew violations, he understands the community’s frustration with the heightened enforcement but “part of what drove this was the violence taking place,” he said.
The district was bombarded with phone calls and emails due to the growing number of disturbances and because it wasn’t taking place on school grounds and during school hours, they couldn’t do much about it, Messina said.
“I would be more inclined to work with the (Sheriff’s) Department … But I would never say, ‘Hey what you’re doing is wrong.’ I think what they’re doing is right,” he said, adding that deputies never know who the one causing trouble can be.
Governing board President Cherise Moore said during her report that many parents weren’t aware about the 10 p.m. curfew for juveniles and asked how that comes into play during football season when games end after that time.
In comparison to years ago, students don’t have many options where to go to participate in recreational fun following school-wide events, she said.
“We do need to find some options,” Moore said, adding that she believes if a space is provided, maybe the challenges the community is facing now could be reduced.
