Introduction
A curfew can be described as an order establishing a specific time in the evening after which certain regulations apply, especially that no civilians or other specified group of unauthorized persons may be outdoors or that places of public assembly must be closed (Dictionary.com). This definition refers to the curfews that are enacted in some states throughout the United States and some countries. A curfew can also be described as a regulation requiring a person to be home at a certain prescribed time, as imposed by a parent on a child (Dictionary.com). Local city curfew laws are enforced with the intension of reducing the juvenile crime rate. On the other hand, parents enforce curfews to keep teens safe, to protect them and to save them from getting involve in illicit things.
As an old saying goes “parenting does not come with a guide book”. Most parents fear and will agree that adolescence is the age when the kids are the most difficult to handle. It is the age in which the child is experiencing a transitional stage. The child is experiencing physical changes and psychological human development that brings a desire to try to connect to the world. It is the age when the child starts to become more independent and starts to think he/she knows it all, and that is when problems arise. In this report I will analyze the positive and negative impact of curfews on teens. I will make a comparison and draw a conclusion to answer the question if curfews help to keep teens out trouble.
Background
The word curfew comes from the French word couvre-feu which to cover the flaming fire. Curfews originated years ago when the sound of a bell at night was a signal to go to sleep in medieval England (wikipedia.com).
Problem
The t...
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Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D. "Surviving (Your Child's) Adolescence." 12 December 2011. Psycology Today. 7 May 2014 .
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Weigel, Margaret. "Impact of Juvenile Curfew Laws on Arrest of Youth and Adults." 29 November 2011. Journalist's Resource. 7 May 2014 . wikipedia.com. 29 January 2014. .
Today, teen curfews are commonplace and supported by voters. Bainbridge observes that according to Jet Magazine’s survey taken in 2011, 75% of the voters were in support of curfew laws (13). Parents arrange for young children to go to bed at an earlier time than teenagers (Psychologytoday.com). Teens receive the privilege to stay up later but this can mean that they will be out on the streets later at night. McKinny indicates that curfews are in place to protect the youth from crimes that may harm them or take the children’s lives (Time.com).
The city has declared a state of emergency and imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for children under the age of 16. Adults going to and from work are not affected by the curfew.
Curfews don't keep teens out of trouble at night. Making more trouble by forcing them to stay in the house. They'll sneak out the house any time at night to go to a party, or have fun. Sneaking out the house past their curfew; with their parents thinking their child's in bed. When the parent finally notices that the child is missing they will have no idea where their child's at.
They open up the doors to a new discussion that explores the idea of not punishments for crimes they commit, but preventing them before they take place. Staying after school, involved in productive activities seems to help students stay out of trouble. Curfews are imposed in some states, preventing juveniles from being out past a certain time until a time early the next day. These curfews are said to be in place in order to prevent crimes, but there are no statistics to back this up, as there are for the crime rate dropping with kids staying after school. Regardless, these are matters of precaution taken in order to attempt to prevent crimes from happening at the times in which they’d be anticipated to. If things are in place in order to prevent juveniles from committing crimes, the crime rate will drop, and many people will be saved from entering a world unknown to the world that is prison. Stopping juveniles from committing crimes would maybe them cause adults to not commit crimes as well, since in essence, these juveniles will indeed one day be adults. By implementing laws, states and law makers understand that there will always be people that don’t follow them. By stating programs, allowing juveniles a place to reconcile with small mistakes they make, or creating a safe-place where they can seek help from
As shown above, curfew laws can play a very critical role in a teenager’s life. It can assist with keeping the city safer, help them get enough sleep, and help them build their personal skill under a well-structured system routine. A lot of people might find curfew laws for teenagers unconstitutional and contradict the first amendment, so they decide not to abide with it. But by doing so, they are placing more a bigger experience to teenagers who are still working on developing their skills to take on new challenges. After all, Teenagers are the future of our society if we don’t teach, coach, direct, and offer guidance their future will be unstable and unproductive and that will affect the entire nation.
Although crime is committed at all hours of the day, juveniles and adults differ in the time period they are most likely to commit a crime. Juveniles are more likely to commit a crime after they get out of school for the day, between 1500 and 1900 (Crime Solutions). The cut off being at 1900 most likely has something to do with parents wanting their children in early for the night to prepare for school the next day or other possible chores or homework. It could also have something to do with the advance i...
Lesile, Katie. "Teen Curfews: Protect Teens, Curb Crime, or Just Peace of Mind?" Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News. N.p., 13 June 2011. Web. 22 May 2014. .
Today law enforcement is criminalizing innocent activity because of curfews placed in their region. Like in Shaina’s case, she had a destination in mind. Many young teens out past 10p.m. are only trying to get home or have a place of interest in mind. There shouldn’t be an automatic negative assumption of a teen that is out past 10pm. Teenagers should not have labels placed upon them when they have not caused any trouble. Curfew laws create these labels on young teens and put down the ones who are innocent. Curfew laws discriminate against young teens who have done nothing wrong and serve no threat to the community.
Curfews lower the number of teens involved in crimes every year. A curfew is an order specifying a time when certain people have to be indoors. Curfews apply to all minors. Most curfews during the week normally start at 10 p.m., on Fridays and Saturdays the curfew is midnight. In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton said there are many problems that would be resolved if there was a curfew for the local teens.
However, many cities and states in the US currently enforce curfew laws that deny young teens under the age of 18 their right to be in public places or to drive after certain hours. These laws are punishing minors for exercising their constitutional rights in the same way that adults do without such punishment; they are mostly causing no harm, and do not deserve to be discriminated against by the government in the way they are.
According to a 1997 survey conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, “[A curfew] provides officers an opportunity to intervene with potential issues before problems develop. Periodic sweeps remind the public about the law officer. Curfew enforcement has, in large part, become a part of routine enforcement” (US Conference of Mayors). Most adolescents do not see a logical point in having a curfew, but they don’t always realize that parents and other adults only want what is best for them. Curfews allow for parents to keep an eye on their children, keeping them safe and away from harmful situations. It is important to inform others, adults and teenagers alike, of the advantages of a curfew, in order to allow everyone to take better care of themselves
Strict rules create rebellious teens. Many people think that curfews are a fundamental way to keeping teens out of trouble, but this is not the case. Curfews are neither applicable, justified, nor are they a way to diminish criminal activities committed by adolescents. Curfews are ultimately useless because there are too many reasons that contradict why a curfew would work.
The purpose of this paper is to examine juvenile curfew. Curfews have been in place for many years. In the 1700s, curfew was put in place for slaves and workers. Now, since the 1990s, juvenile curfew has become a popular policy across the nation in hopes that it will reduce crime while also protecting the welfare of a minor. Though that may be the sole purpose, there have been critiques about the implementation of juvenile curfew. Some may say that it creates a safer community while others may conclude that it is biased and does not work. First, this paper will provide some of the reasons in which curfew is being used. Second, some of the consequences that come along with juvenile curfew will be stated. Then, the various forms of the curfew
Youth curfew laws are intended to protect teens from getting into trouble and being harmed by forcing adolescents to stay off the streets after a certain hour, but do they take away rights from teens at the same time? Youth curfew laws have been implemented across counties in the United States. One curfew law in Philadelphia (“American”) limits the times youth can be out varying by age and time from 8pm to 11pm. Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia reasons, “…which will help keep safe our citizens, especially our young people,” when speaking about the ordinance. Fines for violations of the curfew law include a $500 fine against the parent(s). Just like with all laws, people have been for and against curfew laws. These laws have been passed to control teen criminal activity, safety. Some argue that curfew laws take away rights from young people, while others say they cause issues with crime records by charging youth with breaking laws that have no criminal activities other than being out late. Others argue that curfew laws force teens to bond with their families, cause them to stay away from drugs and alcohol, reduce teen pregnancies, and over-all reduce crime rates.
"Handling Curfews." BYU David O. McKay School of Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.