Although some say legal curfews prevent young people from participating in illegal activity, this is not the case. Subjecting young people to legal curfews is not only ineffective but also counterproductive.
Legal curfews are not an effective solution to preventing teen crime. An analysis by The FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) used the FBIs master files to collect information on all the crimes committed over a five year time period. In the study they analyzed the date of the crime, the time of day in which the crime was committed, and the age of the victimizer. They found that juvenile crime occurs Monday through Friday more often than on the weekends. Juvenile crime takes place in the hours just after an average school day gets out, around 3p.m. On school days, serious violent crime (which includes: murder & sexual assault) and aggravated assault in juveniles both peak at 3p.m. Robbery in juveniles peaks later in the night at 9p.m. On non-school days these same crimes peak at 1pm. The curfew law here in Arizona says minors under the age of sixteen cannot be o...
The policy was aimed mainly to apply to the youths of Western Australia, specifically those who frequently loitered in the Perth/Northbridge area. The policy prohibits children 12 or under to be in the area after sunset, and children between the ages of 13 to 15 after 10pm – unless under the care of a sober or responsible guardian. The policy is something that has also been directed to those all less than 18 years of age, who engage in what is said to be anti-social beha...
Curfew laws provide greater safety for the residents of the city. A survey was conducted by the U.S. conference of mayors in 1995 stated that 86% of the cities believed that applying the curfew law for the youth helped make their streets safer for their residents (USCM). with more people outside being fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, curfews can help teenagers stay away from the greater risk that can come as hours gets later states Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D., a psychologist writing for Psychology Today (Hatter).
There are many crimes committed by teenagers every year. Crimes that are committed by teens each year are mainly assault, bullying, gang violence, and physical fights. According to National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, about 1 and 9 murders are from kids that are under 18 (Center, 2001). In 1998, there were approximately 2,570 among youth aged 10-19. Every day there are at least 7 children murdered in the United States (Center, 2001). Statistics say that between 16%-32% female teenagers have committed a crime before the age of 17. Also 30%-40% male teenagers have committed a violent crime before they turned 17 (Center, 2001). Teenagers that commit crimes are the ones who were abused or bullied as a...
For starters, curfew keeps children safer than usual. When you have children just roaming the streets, something bad is bound to happen. It’s always that one experimental friend that says “hey guys, let’s go try this”. Well this one statement can lead to a heap of trouble. According to a recent study done, there has been a 97 percent drop of juvenile delinquents (Seith 1). What this means is with curfew incorporated within the community the rate of children going to juvenile centers has significantly decreased.
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.
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...
Multiple cities across the country have set curfews for teenagers, making it illegal for teenagers to be on the streets past a given hour. Teenagers are seen breaking the curfew laws in these cities, but many have an adequate excuse as to why they are doing so. I play travel volleyball and my practices go until ten o'clock pm and I do not arrive home until sometimes eleven o'clock pm, this would mean I would be out on the streets illegally if this curfew was set. Setting curfews for teenagers would interfere with after school activities, teen working hours and school assignments. After school activities are a large part of many teenagers' lives, such activities include both school and club sports, clubs, hobbies, etc. Curfews would limit the
Curfews are here to stop teenagers from roaming the streets at night and causing trouble. In consideration of having a curfew for teenagers, the crime rate has greatly decreased. Many tests and studies have confirmed that curfews do keep teenagers out of trouble. Curfews have helped keep many of the streets safe and free of crime in various cities around the world, even cities in Michigan.
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.
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.
Curfews have been around in the United States since the late 1800s. Over time curfews have changed; the original curfews were in medieval Europe. A curfew was “the ringing of a bell indicat[ing] that fires were to be extinguished for the evening” (Fried 128). When curfews were adopted in the U.S., city officials and citizens believed that imposing a curfew helps to reduce crime rate and victimization of teens. First curfew was imposed in Omaha, Nebraska in 1880. According to the article, “Youth curfews popular with American cities but effectiveness and legality are questioned” President Harrison believed that curfews were very important in protecting children from “‘vices of the street’” (Favro). Later, curfews were adopted in many of the major U.S. cities that had populat...
Not only can they get into trouble, but they can also run into trouble. High Schooler’s are easy targets for trouble, plain and simple. If the police have heard of a crime committed and it is late at night and they see a group of High Schoolers they will question you and maybe even bring you to the station. In 1997 9 out of 10 cities said that curfews are a good use of police officers time and 88 % observed that enforcing curfews made their streets safer. If curfews can be inflicted and put into play, students may have much more opportunities to succeed and be better than the people before them. In another example if students are home by curfew there is no reason for trouble. This keeps them safe and it keeps their friends safe.
Before going into detail about crime prevention, here is a little background information on juvenile crime. ‘Murders by young men between the ages of 14 and 17 jumped 161 percent between 1992 and 1993’ (Juvenile Crime, 1). Aggravated assault arrests have grown 95 percent since 1985. Robbery arrests have grown 57 percent (Juvenile Violence, Drugs, and Weapons, 1). The number of juveniles arrested in 1994 was 94 percent greater than the total number arrested in 1981 (2).
Should teenagers be restricted to a curfew? That's a question many parents question themselves. What is my son up? What is my daughter doing? How do I know if they're safe? What time will he/she be home? When following curfews, teens tend to stay out of trouble more because criminal activity or high-risk behaviors is more likely to occur later in the evening when parental supervision is not present. Therefore teenagers need have a curfew, imposing curfews would help keep young teens out of trouble legally, set strict boundaries, and provides safety.
Another argument as to why curfews classify as unpleasant ideas lies under the category of teenage rebellion. The word stubborn describes teenagers extremely well, so when parents tell them they must abide by a strict curfew, some of them tend to become angry. Outraged and annoyed teenagers...