Explained: Drunk, combative Victorville teens force sheriff to enact curfew in 1956
With reports of “gangs” of teenagers beating up airmen and drunk teenage girls driving and causing “endless trouble” in Victorville, the San Bernardino County sheriff dropped the hammer.
The sheriff who enforced the juvenile curfew was Frank Bland, more than 60 years ago.
Although the city's current juvenile curfew isn't as strict as it was in the 1950s, law enforcement still has the ability to reprimand children found in violation.
Here's a brief history of how and why a juvenile curfew was enacted in Victorville.
'Junior jail'
In March 1956, Sheriff Frank Bland and Capt. Arch Johnston announced that the county’s curfew of 10 p.m. would be “rigidly enforced.”
At the time, Bland said he “means business” when he issued stern warnings to parents who permitted their children under 18 to roam the streets of Victorville.
For those asking, at the time, what the curfew was all about, the Daily Press responded with, “You should have known, or at least asked the question long before this, Mr. and Mrs. Victorville.”
Teenagers unaccompanied by parents or legal guardians were subject to a maximum fine of $500 or six months in jail, or both, Bland said. Adjusted for inflation, $500 in 1956 is equal to about $5,500 in 2023, according to several financial websites.
Unaccompanied children would be arrested after the 10 p.m. curfew. Parents would be notified to pick them up at the county building’s “Junior Jail” in Victorville, authorities said.
Soon after Bland's warning, deputies made arrests, and Judge Ed Volk imposed two $50 fines on parents, the Daily Press reported.
A native of Needles, Bland was no stranger to discipline and the enforcing of the law.
In 1954, the WWII Marine Corps veteran served as an FBI special agent under FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, when he was elected to lead the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
During the election for sheriff, some of Bland’s campaign promises were to stop the current crime wave, and to protect citizens, including those serving at the now-shuttered George Air Force Base in Victorville.
Gen Z still has a curfew
The current Victorville juvenile curfew hours are from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day, according to the city’s code of ordinances.
The California Welfare and Institutions Code states that a police officer may temporarily detain any minor suspected of a curfew violation. The officer is also authorized to take the minors to their home or the custody of a legal guardian.
The police officer may decide not to temporarily detain and transport if they determine that a minor had a legitimate reason for being out past 10 p.m.
Any person violating the curfew shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Minors will be penalized by juvenile court and may be subject to a fine not to exceed $250.
Any minor violating curfew may, upon the first violation, be issued a warning citation, including a warning that upon a second violation, the parents or legal guardian may be held liable for actual and transportation costs.
Upon a second violation of curfew, within 12 months, a fee for the costs of administrative and transportation services for the return of the minor home may be charged jointly or to the minor, their parents, or legal guardian.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Explained: Teens force sheriff to drop hammer on Victorville in 1956
