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Negative effects of curfew
Curfew:is it effective in keeping teens out of trouble
How curfews don't work
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Setting a curfew for teens and young adults under the age of eighteen is very helpful in keeping teens off the streets as night when most crime occurs. Having this as law will give the parents the peace of mind that their children aren’t out roaming around town at night. I agree that this is not going to stop people from breaking the law just because you are restricting them from a certain time of the day. Setting this curfew will help law enforcement to single out the people who are breaking the law any way because it is not going to stop them from being out when they are not supposed to be. A curfew law is considered a “Status offence” meaning it is illegal when a minor commits it but is not illegal when an adult commits the crime. (Protection or Punishment)
Most crime occurs during the night hours because it is known that it is easier to get away when no one is watching. A lot of teen crime happens between 11:00pm and 3:00am. Setting up a curfew that takes place during those times or even later on in the night will keep children off the streets where bad things can take place. Drug deals and robbery mostly take place during the night because it is easier to hide from the police. It has been proven that if curfew laws are enforced constantly it will reduce juvenile crimes. (Bodenhamer) I strongly believe that if there is a curfew put in place the crime rates will decrease more than ever. The law abiding citizens are going to always abide by the law but the ones who break the law are going to break the law. Curfew laws are not set for people who are obeying the law, but for those that have careless parents and attitudes. These people being the ones who are already breaking the laws. (Bodenhamer)
Doing drugs, burglaries, and man...
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...st teens. Making it to where children have to be home by a certain time will help with getting drugs and crime rates off the streets. Though I agree that someone who wants to break the law is going to break the law no matter what, I still believe that having a curfew will only contribute to finding more out about those people who want to break the laws anyway. Setting a curfew will also help the child’s parents out to raise the teen the right way and to know how to abide by the law. Setting a county or state wide curfew would cause many positive effects on our surroundings.
Works Cited
Gregory Bodenhamer. The New York Times “Curfew Laws Benefit the Children of Neglect”
Portland, Ore., July 23, 1996 Web. Nov. 11, 2013
The Benefits of Teenage Curfew Laws. “Youth curfews: Protection or Punishment?” “Balancing Rights and Safety”
Feb. 2013 Web. Nov. 11, 2013
In regards to recommending if the policy should be extended to areas outside of Northbridge, I believe that unless there is a significant amount of research placed on the specific areas which are believed to need a curfew, then yes, it should be extended. Despite this though, from the research above, showing that there was a drop in the amount of people apprehended, it was set out on a specific racial group, from low socio-economic areas, and not areas in which middle class people reside, as it is usually believed that people from low socio-economic background are more commonly at a higher risk of crime than that of middle class.
... adding a new law will not change anything. When teens are out after curfew, they are committing a crime, and therefore by default, adding to the list of juvenile criminals. Consequently, curfews do not decrease crime rates.
... proponents say 'cracks down on the worst of the worst among teen criminals.' It is unbelievable that our society will allow for such a law. It seems unfair that a fourteen year old child can make a mistake and pay for it the rest of his/her life. The reason our system has never tried youth as adults is because they are not mature enough to think like an adult and take responsibility for themselves. At such a young age there is still hope for an alteration in his/her lifestyle, locking the child up only diminishes the chance of change. Children act out for attention and in many cases do whatever it takes to get that attention; even if it means bringing a gun to school, or going into a store and stealing a pack of gum. Our society must realize there is a problem with today's youth and find where it stems from - only then is there any hope for change. Putting children into prisons is like pushing dirt under a rug; the dirt can only sit for so long until someone realizes there's a problem and looks to see what the problem is. Our society has been pushing dirt under the rug for so long now that it's only a matter of time until the dirt chafes a hole right through the worn out rug.
... teach teens how to handle the things they consume.Lowering the drinking age from 21 would not be a bad thing at all. Teens have been drink forever, the law hasn’t stopped them so what will help them. Teens will continue to drink anyway with the law in place or not. Parents know this or hopefully know this, most adult that have teens want to help them so they are not going to harm someone or themselves. They can’t with the law in place because they could be in big trouble.Parents can have child endangerment charges put on them,and have their kids taken away from them. Knowing this the age should be lowered so this doesn’t happen. Teens could drink at home not driving home, when they are at home they are most comfortable. Then know one has to worry about teen getting drunk and try to drive. So ultimately lowering the age could and would help people in the long run.
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
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).
During daylight saving time crime rates seem to plummet below the normal rate. As stated in Source C, violent crime rates were reduced “by 10 to 13 percent during periods of daylight saving time.” Sunlight causes civilians to feel generally safer in today’s society. It is believed that crime is greatly influenced by lighting conditions. By scheduling the hours to create more sunlight time the influence of crime opportunities is diminished greatly. Daylight
Should kids under the age of seventeen have a curfew law of 9 pm? No, because there are many activities or things that teens do which they are not responsible for being out past 9 pm. There are many school related activities that students attend that can go to as late as 10 pm. Yes, most teens stay out and try to be trouble starters, yet a 9 pm curfew is not going to help it's shown that the average teen crime rate has gone up in a few states that have already passed this law. Plus, most teenagers also have jobs and what are they supposed to do if they don't get off work until 10 pm or 11 pm we should have to choose between getting fired because people can't ever work late or take a fine for the curfew.
A police officer stops a group of teens who are walking around a local mall. The officer asks for their age and desires, the teens tell their age and gives him their desire. The officers decide to take the teens home and gives their parents a fine because they were not home by their curfew. It is common to see teens working at a mall or shop, but what if they had to leave their job early to meet their curfew time. Towns and shopping malls are now adding curfews to their rules and opening hours for teens.
Curfews help the streets of many cities all around the U.S. More than 146 U.S cities, according to findarticles.com, have curfews that require kids under the age of 18 to be off the streets and in their house at a certain time. According to youthservicesslc.wordpress.com the U.S Conference of Mayors sent out a survey to other Mayors in 347 cities and discovered that 83 percent of the cities alleged that gang-related crime in some of the cities had decreased. For example, police in Phoenix say that gang affiliated murders, drive-by shootings, robberies, and major assaults have shrunk by 42 percent since the curfew law has been in effect according to findarticles.com. Even in Michigan curfew have been known to reduce teen crime, In Ludington, according to Capital News Service, “When Lake County had a problem with mischievous youth, the police department stepped up curfew enforcement for those under 16 and it paid off. The number of youth crimes decreased, Lake County Sheriff Robert Hilts said. Similar effects have been reported elsewhere. After curfew laws are put in place, youth arrests drop ...
Teens feel like they need to do whatever they want and live their lives at the fullest. “Usually if kids are out late they’re usually doing something they’re not supposed to be doing.” Roach said. But he said he did not know if a curfew would help resolve any problems” (George). If having a curfew keeps teens out of trouble, then it is going to make them not enforce it and try to break it and probably do illegal things that will possibly affect their future.
That is a factor in the problem with society, but that is an argument for another day. It has been said that the curfew law does not cut down crime, and it actually increase the youth crime rate. I don't believe that helping teens keep off the street makes them want to commit crime, but the people who set rules and don't enforce them, allow the teens to have that advantage to do what they pleased and have no penalties is what make them want creating the crime. Curfew provide a time for teens to be home. Thus, keeping them out of the streets after hours.
Weigel, Margaret. "Impact of Juvenile Curfew Laws on Arrest of Youth and Adults." 29 November 2011. Journalist's Resource. 7 May 2014 .
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.
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