"They should change it to 12 or something," said Itagaki recently at Hawaiian Brian's Billiards, a popular Kapiolani Boulevard gathering spot. "And they should change the age, too. If you could drive at 15, you should be able to stay out later."

Even so, Hawaii's 10 p.m. curfew for those under 16 isn't much of a deterrent, at least for some.

"We still go out," she said.

John Phongphila, on the other hand, thinks the state's curfew law is too lenient.

"They should make it a lot earlier," the 17-year-old said. "Certain parts of the mainland, they make it about 8 o'clock. If the law was a lot stricter, I probably would have stayed home and graduated."

Summer's here and that age-old question rankles: "It's almost midnight. Do you know where your kids are?"

President Clinton jumped on the curfew bandwagon last month, endorsing New Orleans' dusk-to-dawn ordinance.

"These are just like the old-fashioned rules most of us had when we were kids," he said. "When the lights come on, be home."

Government intrusion?

"Our position is in general we oppose juvenile curfew laws," he said. "It's an unjustifiable governmental intrusion into the rights of children."

University of Hawaii criminologist Meda Chesney Lind pointed to many legitimate youth activities that keep kids out past curfew: carnivals, dances, sporting events and movies, for example.

And Taomae said curfew laws are redundant. There are already laws on the books regarding youth criminal activity.

Hawaii's curfew law applies to children under 16 without adult supervision between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., 365 days a year.

Lt. Arthur Ledward of the Honolulu Police Juvenile Section said he believes the curfew is an effective law enforcement tool to keep the community safer.

"It's a tool the police use to prevent any malicious behavior the kids may be dreaming up," he said.

Last year, Honolulu police arrested 295 juveniles for curfew violations. This year, they're on about the same pace, averaging 25 curfew arrests per month.

"Most of the time, we'll just send them home," he said.

"If they don't go home, we'll arrest them."

A first arrest lands the offender and a parent in the Saturday morning Akamai Youth Project, where they learn about the law as it pertains to juveniles.

Upon a second curfew arrest, a detective meets one on one with the offender and family in a counseling session.

The Hawaii curfew law, originally written in 1896 but since updated, provides for a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment for not more than 20 days for parents who permit their children to violate the curfew.

Debating its effectiveness

Crime in a few cities, including Dallas and New Orleans, has reportedly gone down since curfews were adopted. But a recent study in South Carolina showed that juvenile crime is worst between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., the time when schools let out for the day.

Crime abates in the early morning hours, according to the study.

While both Clinton and Republican challenger Bob Dole have pronounced their support for local curfews, the Supreme Court has never decided whether governments can impose them. The court has, however, ruled in other cases that children sometimes have fewer rights than their parents.

"In general, I think (curfews) are a bad idea," said Chesney Lind. " . . . You create responsibility in people by giving them responsibility.

"Yes, idleness is a problem for kids. But you don't solve that by saying you have to stay home with your parents. That's assuming that the parents are even home."

Jared Cullen sees the issue differently.

A 21-year-old veteran of the streets, Cullen said he'd like to see tighter curfew enforcement here.

"It throws all of us off," he said.

"We like to go out and pick up girls, and we get 14- and 15-year-olds hanging out with us. They get us in trouble. Keep them home until they're old enough to play with the big boys."