San Jacinto, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Chapter 9.20 sets two curfews. The nighttime rule in § 9.20.030 bars any juvenile from remaining in any public place or on the premises of any establishment, or idling, wandering, strolling or aimlessly driving or riding about, on a public street, avenue, highway, road, curb area, alley, park, playground, public building, place of amusement, eating place, vacant lot or unsupervised place between ten p.m. of any day and six a.m. of the following day. Section 9.20.020 defines a juvenile as any person under eighteen years of age.

Section 9.20.040 lists the situations in which the nighttime curfew does not apply: the juvenile is accompanied by a parent; on an errand at a parent's direction; in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel; working or going to or from work without detour or stop; engaged in activity required for a business, trade, profession or occupation in which the juvenile is lawfully engaged; involved in an emergency; on the sidewalk abutting the juvenile's residence; returning directly home from a public meeting or a place of public entertainment such as a movie, play or sporting event; attending or traveling directly to or from an adult-supervised school, religious or recreational activity sponsored by the city, a civic organization or a similar entity; exercising First Amendment rights; or emancipated.

The daytime curfew in § 9.20.050 applies to juveniles subject to compulsory education or compulsory continuation education. They cannot be in or upon any public street, highway, road, alley, park, playground or other public ground, public place, public building, place of amusement, eating establishment or vacant lot from eight-thirty a.m. to one-thirty p.m. on days when the juvenile's school is in session, subject to the exceptions in § 9.20.060.

Parents are covered by § 9.20.070, which makes it unlawful to knowingly permit, or by insufficient control allow, a juvenile to violate the chapter. Section 9.20.080 requires a peace officer to ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in public before acting, and bars a citation or detention unless the officer reasonably believes an offense occurred and no defense appears to apply. An officer can cite the juvenile or parent and detain the juvenile until placed with a parent. Section 9.20.100 allows a fee for actual costs of administrative and transportation services for returning the juvenile home.