“Juvenile curfew laws are local ordinances that prohibit people of a certain age (usually under 18) from being in public or in a business establishment during certain hours (such as between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.),” according to a Findlaw.com article (Juvenile Curfew Law Basics).
As Zimmerman explains, teen curfew laws gained their popularity in the 1900s. Their presence flourished during the 1920s with the Prohibition movement, when gang violence caused the community to become increasingly worried about children’s safety at night. As a result, more juvenile curfew laws were enacted. During the 1950s and 1990s, communal concern for youth grew, causing more curfew laws to be enacted to protect those under the age of eighteen. In 1996, President Bill Clinton approved a bill, providing the nation with $75 million to implement curfew ordinances. (Philly.com).
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).
Espejo explains that those who break curfew laws may face penalties such as a fine, jail time, or a simple warning. The penalty is determined by the city or state just as is the age of those the law is applied to and the hour at which the law is applied (20). But teens are not the only people punished. Boyle argues that although most ...
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... 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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
The Criminal Law state at the age of 7, any young child that are engaged in a criminal behavior can be prosecuted in the Family Court of Law. Additionally, juveniles can also be arrested for curfews violations, refusal to obey parents, running away, skipping school, and underage alcohol consumption. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that roughly half of all youth arrested are charged with theft, simple assaults, drug abuse, disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. OJJDP statistics confirms that theft is the greatest cause of youth arrests. (Martin, 2011) When they are prosecute and after the judge made there verdict, they become Juvenile Delinquent. A Juvenile Delinquent is a youth between the age of 7 and 18 who commits the act of a crime. The law also follows a specific term placement, which is:
Research demonstrates that the hours near 3 and 6pm are when kids are destined to engage in wrongdoings, drink or utilize recreational drugs or become the victims of crimes. Research also indicate that by keeping kids occupied this can help keep them from participating in dangerous conduct. Research additionally, demonstrate that being in an afterschool program can enhance kids grades and they tend to have less behavioral issues. According to HENKEL, J. (May 2002) Across the United State an estimated 5 million children spend non-school hour with no adult supervision and this add to the statistic of juvenile crime.
There is some debate on whether curfews keep teenagers out of trouble. A curfew is defined as a law or regulation that requires a person or group of people must stay indoors for a designated time, usually through the night. Curfews usually apply to teenagers and are there to help keep them out of trouble and keep them safe. City regulations have different views on curfew times and age groups. For example, a 13 year old will need to go indoors earlier than a 17 year old. Usually a curfew is set at about 11 p.m., but can also be set for in the daytime. In consideration of having a curfew for teenagers, the crime rate has greatly decreased.
The problem of juvenile violence has become one of the most overwhelming problems of our time for Texas and for the United States. The problem is spread throughout the United States. The serious crimes are usually thought to be problems of the urban city, but this is no longer a problem just for the inner city. The problem has spread through the suburban areas of the city in cases just like the first example. Citizens are spending tons of money trying to fight the problem on their own. They purchase everything they can to combat crime. Women have mace, cars have alarms, houses have burglar bars and alarms, and many schools have metal detectors to try to control the overwhelming effects of violence (Defending 93). However, these efforts are not enough to overcome the effects of violence, such as man pictured below with an automatic weapon in the streets of his neighborhood (Gest p.29). All jail and court information leads to the outcome that there is a wide diversity of criminals in jail. There is no longer a predictable profile for a juvenile criminal. However, most of the criminals still come from the inner city. Due to a 21% estimated rise in the number of 15 to 19 year olds by the year 2005, the problem will get worse without a better plan. The American juvenile justice system is supposed to be the system that prevents juveniles form committing crimes, but the system was designed over 100 years ago to prevent minor crimes from occurring (LaCoya 12/2/94). The current system in Texas and throughout most of the United States allows juveniles to receive a less severe penalty than an adult who is convicted of the same crime. The current Texas system does not allow juveniles to be prosecuted as an adult until they are eighteen unless...
Weigel, Margaret. "Impact of Juvenile Curfew Laws on Arrest of Youth and Adults." 29 November 2011. Journalist's Resource. 7 May 2014 .
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.
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.
According to McClain, Kansas City police and officials implemented a curfew for minors. This curfew restricts teenagers the rights that they’re are able to take part in. The curfew refuses teens the right to dine, watch movies, talk with friend, or walk around the plaza after 9 p.m. The curfew was implemented due to a shooting that occurred involving a number of teenagers. This article informs the reader that not only are teens having the freedoms that other people are able to enjoy taken away, but they are also being discriminated against because of their age. These restrictions are not only discriminative, but they’re unconstitutional. The 14th amendment to the constitution has a clause, called the Equal Protection Clause. The Equal Protection Clause states, “The constitutional guarantee that no person or class of persons shall be denied the same protection of the laws that is enjoyed by other persons or other classes in like circumstances in their lives, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness” (thefreedictionary.com). The Equal Protection Clause also prevents a class of people from feeling inferior. This clause could easily be extended to teens as well because they are viewed as intellectually inferior by majority class. Adolescents are thought to be incapable of making an appropriate solution to a situation. This misconception has been formed due to parents and elderly people forcing children to follow strict rules and do as the parent or elderly person says; this prevents the child from creating their own solution to problems and causes the child to lack problem solving skill. The lack of problems solving skill could affect them more substantially in life, due to them no longer being minors and having their punishment more severe. Teens are widely regarded as trouble-makers, but they only cause trouble in their pursuit to experience life. Not only do curfews force children to
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.