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Curfews and teens
Effect of curfew
Are Curfews Effective When Keeping Teens Out of Trouble
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No parent wants to see their kid coming home at four in the morning, every parent relates the time their child comes home at with whether they are correlated in an even that could have a negative occurrence. Teenage years revolve around finding one’s self, outlook on the future, and at times participating in events that consider them to seem cool. Also, can be a form of acting rebellious, I am in high school and without seeing statistics to back up my arguments I have first-hand experience that curfews lead teens to stay out of trouble. When I refer to curfews I am referring to state laws, not their parents giving teenagers a certain time to come home because those times vary among different adults. The law setting curfews for the youth is …show more content…
For example, typical curfews require that teenagers under 17 years stay out of the streets starting from 11:00 p.m. or midnight. This is believed to protect them from crimes committed after nightfall, as well as from violating the law, and there exist serious evidence in favor of this conviction. For example, when New Orleans enabled a dusk-till-dawn curfew in 1994, the rates of juvenile crime were reported to fall more than 20 percent. To go along with that statistic it also shows, even more impressive results were recorded in Dallas, which reported a 30 percent decrease in violent juvenile crime, and a 21 percent decrease in the overall rates of crime committed by young people. Crime rate among teens is proven to go down when curfews are enforced within them. Jane Jacobs, a well-known urban theorist, wrote in 1961, “A well-used street is apt to be a safe street. A deserted street is apt to be unsafe.” This points to one problem with juvenile curfews: by convincing people (both juveniles and their caregivers) to go home earlier, they clear the streets of bystanders and witnesses whose mere presence could deter crime. It’s possible, then, that juvenile curfews make streets less safe, not more. The real question now is which effect is larger in …show more content…
Doleac and Jillian Carr tested the effect of juvenile curfews on gun violence in Washington D.C by law, the weekday curfew time in D.C changes from midnight to 11:00 p.m. on September 1st, and back to midnight on July 1st, which follows the school year. Their study suggest that juvenile curfews increase gun violence, and therefor impose a cost on society by decreasing public safety. This doesn’t mean that curfews don’t have some positive effects. It’s possible that juvenile curfews reduce other types of crime, for example minor offenses such as vandalism. To the extent that those types of offenses are a concern, and if they are reduced more than gun violence is increased, then local jurisdictions might find juvenile curfews worthwhile. Making progress on the big criminal justice goals will often require difficult tradeoffs. In this case the decision might be easy. We could make our streets safer simply by repealing juvenile curfew laws. I believe a curfew develops values within a teen. It instills responsibility and awareness amongst teenagers. Like if a teen values the curfew law that mean he/she understands the importance of it and it’s effect on
Cities that have curfew law experience fewer teens’ crimes and victimization. When Lake County had an issue with teens’ crimes, the police department forced curfews for teens under 16 years old (Courtney). As a result, Lake County Sheriff reported that the number of teen crimes decreased (Courtney). Moreover, a study research for 54 U.S cities with 180,000 or more residents has been done by the University of California shows that youth arrests dropped by 10 percent.
Wagner also points out that curfews are ineffective. Statistics show that more juvenile crimes actually occur during times not under the city’s curfew (Youth Today). Espejo reports that, “According to the FBI, ‘Youth between the ages of 12 and 17 are most at risk of committing violent acts and being victims between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.” These are times outside the range of curfew laws (23). According to McKinny, a curfew’s purpose is to protect youth from crime (Time.com). The times of frequent youth criminal activities do not match up with the times of curfew ordinances, thus proving that the curfews are ineffective in reducing juvenile crime.
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
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...
This report is on the subject of the “Northbridge Curfew” policy which was implemented in Western Australia, under the Labor Government in 2003. The report will discuss a number of points, such as, what the curfew is, why it was created, and both the positive and negative reactions from the public after the curfew was put in to action. The report will also include a recommendation as to whether or not the Curfew should be extended to include areas outside of the Northbridge area.
Juvenile crime in the United States is ballooning out of control along with adult crimes, and politicians and law enforcement officials don’t seem to be able to do anything about it. Despite tougher sentencing laws, longer probation terms, and all other efforts of lawmakers, the crime and recidivism rates in our country can’t be reduced. The failure of these recent measures along with new research and studies by county juvenile delinquency programs point to the only real cure to the U.S.’s crime problem: prevention programs. The rising crime rates in the United States are of much worry to most of the U.S.’s citizens, and seems to be gaining a sense of urgency. Crime ranks highest in nationwide polls as Americans’ biggest concern (Daltry 22). For good reason- twice as many people have been victims of crimes in the 1990s as in the 1970s (Betts 36). Four times as many people under the age of eighteen were arrested for homicide with a handgun in 1993 than in 1983 (Schiraldi 11A). These problems don’t have a quick fix solution, or even an answer that everyone can agree on. A study by the Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy has found no deterrent effects of the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law recently put into effect by politicians (Feinsilber 1A). It has been agreed however that there is not much hope of rehabilitating criminals once started on a life of crime. Criminologist David Kuzmeski sums up this feeling by saying, “If society wants to protect itself from violent criminals, the best way it can do it is lock them up until they are over thirty years of age.... I am not aware of any treatment that has been particularly successful.” The problem with his plan is that our country simply doesn’t have the jail space, or money to ...
Sutphen, Richard D., and Janet Ford. “The Effectiveness And Enforcement of A Teen Curfew Law.” Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 28.1 (2001): 55. Academic Search Complete. 20 Mar. 2012.
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 ...
Many believe that locking away juveniles is the best way to keep society safe but they are wrong. Locking juveniles away does more harm than any good. Expert say that there’s “a decline in juvenile crime, concerns about the cost of adult prisons, and growing understanding that adolescents have a greater potential for rehabilitation than adults do.” There’s no need to spend so much money on juveniles in prisons when
Weigel, Margaret. "Impact of Juvenile Curfew Laws on Arrest of Youth and Adults." 29 November 2011. Journalist's Resource. 7 May 2014 .
How can a curfew keep my young teenager from doing illegal activities? Having a curfew provides teens with a limited amount of time to commit any criminal offenses.
In today’s society, some parents create curfews for their children while others allow their children to create their own curfews. Numerous people argue that setting curfews for teenagers help them refrain from taking part in mischief and help them to develop into superior adults. The remaining group of people state that curfews would make teenagers rebel. Teenage curfews produce many different positive and negative views in parents and teenagers. Different opinions on curfews are expressed through parents, teenagers, and mayors; and there are numerous reasons for people not supporting curfews.
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.
Crime is a plague that has haunted American citizens for centuries. The severity of crime has ranged from running a red light to cold blooded murder. Statistics indicate that crime rates have been on the rise in the previous decades, especially juvenile crime. Statistics show that, ‘the number of youths aged 14 and younger who have been charged with homicide has jumped by 43 percent in the past twenty years’ (Kids With No Hope, No Fear, No Rules, And No Life, 2). This increase in juvenile crime has struck a chord of fear in many people . Motivated by this fear our society has to come up with a solution to this impending problem. While several suggestions have been offered, crime prevention is the most logical, effective and beneficial solution.
In today’s society, some parents create curfews for their children while others allow their children to create their own curfews. Numerous people argue that setting curfews for teenagers help them refrain from taking part in mischief and help them to develop into superior adults. The remaining group of people state that curfews would make teenagers rebel. Teenage curfews produce different positive but many negative views in parents and teenagers.