LOUD MUSIC/PARTY ORDINANCE REVISED
On December 16, 2010, Ordinance No. 2834 goes into effect and changes how the Oxnard Police Department deals with repeat calls for service related to loud parties, gatherings or assemblages on private property.
Complaints related to loud music and/or loud parties make up the second most common police call for service. In 2009, the Oxnard Police Department handled 5,630 of these disturbance calls, representing roughly 1 in every 16 police calls.
Locations where repeat loud music/loud party calls originate are particularly problematic. Last year, police responded to 3,957 different locations for loud music/loud party calls. Less than a quarter (899) of the locations were responsible for almost half (2,562) of all loud music/loud party calls. One location had 49 such calls in 2009.
Loud music/loud party calls consume an exorbitant amount of police resources. Weekends are rife with these call types. During the summer months it is not unusual for police to have 30 such calls queued for more than an hour as officers handle higher priority calls. Our experience indicates that the longer a loud music/loud party call waits for police intervention, the higher the likelihood a criminal act will occur. Criminal activities associated with parties include battery, vandalism, drunk driving, sexual assault, underage drinking, and assault with a deadly weapon.
Existing processes to dissuade repeat loud music/loud party calls are ineffective. Currently, when a police officer determines that a party, gathering, or assemblage (“the event”) is a threat to the public peace, health, safety or general welfare, the police officer issues a written warning to the person responsible for the event. This warning states that if the police are required to return to the location within a 48-hour period for another disturbance, the responsible person may be required to pay for all direct and indirect costs attributed to the subsequent response to the event, up to $500.
The proposed ordinance uses the civil citation process and holds rental property owners accountable for the actions of their tenants. Under the proposed ordinance, the officer issues a warning to the person in control of the location of the event and/or the person responsible for the event. In the case of a minor (a person under the age of 18 years), the warning is issued to the parents or guardian of the minor. If the person does not own the property where the event was held, a written warning may also be mailed to the property owner.
If police are required to return to the location of the event within a 72-hour period, the person receiving the written warning may be issued a civil citation. The written warning mailed to the property owner contains information about the incident and warns the property owner that if police personnel are required to return to the location within one year because of loud noise, a civil citation may also be issued to him or her.
For additional information, refer to the full-text ordinance by clicking <here>.
