Teens Arrested During Curfew Sweep to Combat Underage Drinking

In an effort to crack down on underage drinking, San Diego police held a curfew sweep operation along the Mexican border in the south bay on Friday evening.

Police said they were at the border in San Ysidro enforcing a 10 p.m. curfew for teens under 17-years-old who they say are known to go to Tijuana in order to drink.

โ€œWe canโ€™t drink over there in U.S. and itโ€™s different drinking in TJ,โ€ said Alex Marquez.

Marquez just turned 18 and at that age she is legally allowed to drink in Mexico.

However police say they were enforcing the sweep because a number of teens under 18 are going to Tijuana to drink and that can also lead to crime.

Throughout the evening, police detained teens who were breaking the curfew law and since starting the sweeps, police said they have noticed a difference.

โ€œStatistics have shown that juvenile crime and victimization has significantly dropped when we hold these curfew operations,โ€ said SDPD Acting Lt. Terence Charlot.

During spring break, 12 teens were arrested.

Police will be out in force again during the summer and holiday weekends, Charlot said.

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