Juvenile Curfew Law

A juvenile delinquent is defined as “a person who is typically under the age of 18 and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult.” The life of a juvenile started like everyone else’s but the only difference is that they were never loved or have been loved by anyone, especially not by their parents or guardians. Most of the juvenile cases that go to court deal with delinquents not abiding by the state or county curfew.

It is said that the curfew law could have originated during the medieval times. During the fifth through the fifteenth centuries in England, there would be a bell that signaled for everyone to go home and go to sleep. The only people who were excused from abiding by this curfew were people in power and in noble positions. Originally it was used by King Alfred the Great in Oxford to reduce the amount of fires and late night revolts happening in the city. This can be compared to how the United States implements the curfew law to reduce the risk of crime rates.

The first state to adopt the curfew was the state of Nebraska in 1880. The president at the time, Benjamin Harrison, said that the most important thing was the protection of the children. The curfew is a way to keep young criminals off of the streets and in the house with the parents. If a juvenile fails to follow the curfew hours, which is usually between the times of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and is caught on the streets they will be brought down to the local police department.

When the juvenile violates the curfew law then there could be severe consequence. So of which are fines, which increase for every time they are caught violating the curfew. They could also be subject to being forced to do community service or ...

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...e curfew law allows for authorities to target them based solely on their age and maybe even certain racial groups. In a positive light the curfew law is seen to reduce crime, but at the same time was allowing our law enforcement agencies to be prejudice amongst this group of our society.

In conclusion, having the curfew law in effect helps out the whole community and states by reducing crime rates. Even though there have been debates on the subject whether the law helps or not speculators say that it does benefit the community. Just by looking at the statistics it shows a decrease in overall crime rates. In turn helping the minors stay safer and out of trouble late at night when they could be doing drugs or consuming alcohol. It also reduces the amount of teenage deaths and gang activities. So keeping the law In effect makes the world a better place to grow up in.