Thread: City/Town curfews. Do they work?

I was talking to my friend tonight, and her teenage daughter was almost involved in a teen stabbing. There were three girls that were stabbed by a group of other teen girls. We were discussing the idea of having a child/teen curfew in the city and whether that would slow the crime rates. I remember when I was a teen, I wasn't allowed out past ten or eleven o'clock without the suprvison of a young-adult of 18 years of age or older. I still remember the cops pulling up beside me, many times over while I was wakling downtown. They always asked why I was out and demanded to see the ID of my friends that were the age of 18. I found it ridiculous at the time.

That city law has since come and gone for the new generation of hooligans.

I'm not so sure if a night-time curfew would stop violent behaviour between young teens anyway. Would that stabbing have been avoided if those teens weren't allowed out past the hour of eleven, when it happened at one in the morning? It still could have happened at eight pm, although they likely wouldn't have had the opportunity for drinking and drugs so early on.

Also, there has been an escalation in breakins and vandalism to homes and vehicles in the night-time hours. So possibly a curfew would stop those types of crimes?

Do you think there should be a curfew for teens? Do you think it would keep them and others safer? Or, do you think it impedes on their right to freedom?

As a long-ago teenager whose town had a curfew, and as a not-so-long-ago parent of a teenager, I think curfews do work. For one thing, it allows the police to send/take kids home before they get into trouble. Second, it forces the parents to know where their kids are at night (I work at a 24-7 store, and you wouldn't believe how many (obviously) teens are roaming the streets at 2 or 3 in the morning - no adults, no parents.) Last, as teenagers, not full adults, there are a lot of restrictions placed on them. I see no reason why not roaming the streets at night shouldn't be another, both for their own safety and for others'.

I grew up on a military base in Alberta, and there was a curfew. I didn't really notice any restrictions on my ability to do anything. My bedtime was pretty close to the curfew, so I should have been in bed anyway!

I align closely with what Shadow has said. I'm pro-curfew for under-18s, which allows police to challenge anyone that fits that profile without impinging on their rights.

We had curfews when I was a kid. Precisely at 10:30, announcements would play on all of the Chicagoland TV stations: "It's 10:30—do you know where your child is?"

The problem I have with curfews, or anything involving the police, is that they didn't treat everyone fairly. They'd be chauffeurs for the white kids, who'd be driven home and given a gentle reprimand. Black kids, however, would be "run in," taken to the police station, and treated like criminals. Sometimes the police would even rob them. And when I was a kid, I barely escaped being molested by one who beckoned to me from an alley. Eek!

I've always been a straight-as-an-arrow, law-abiding citizen, but if I hesitate to promote anything that would cause cops and kids to "interact." If I had underage kids, I'd avoid such problems and make sure they were home by curfew. I'd feel sorry for those who were caught though, unless of course they're up to no good.

Originally Posted by patskywriter

We had curfews when I was a kid. Precisely at 10:30, announcements would play on all of the Chicagoland TV stations: "It's 10:30—do you know where your child is?"

The problem I have with curfews, or anything involving the police, is that they didn't treat everyone fairly.

But that, of course, is a problem with the police (or a particular police force) and not with the curfew. I'm quite sure that no matter what law is involved, problems occur if the police are 'playing favorites' (race, financial status, neighborhood, gender, etc etc).

Please, lets not go on any racial hate trips here.

On topic:
Much depends on how it's organised, promoted, and managed. It's something which can have great chance of success, and gripping promise of dramatic failure. For any realistic chances of success, you need to look beyond a punishment curfew based on age bigotry, and look at the contributing factors of late night crime. only then you might have any realistic chance of any program making a positive difference.

Originally Posted by Rustgold

Please, lets not go on any racial hate trips here. …

An expression of concern regarding fair treatment is not the same as spewing hatred. There's a difference.

Originally Posted by patskywriter

An expression of concern regarding fair treatment is not the same as spewing hatred. There's a difference.

And we're not living in the last century.

Today it's turning into hatred against whites; before that it was hatred of Chinese; before that was hatred of Italians; before that was hatred of blacks; before that hatred of Indians; before that hatred of Irish; before that hatred of Turks; before that Spanish, Arabs, etc, & etc, & etc, and the same stupid little cycle repeats its stupid little self. You know, it's situations like this which really makes me want to agree with those who say humankind is detestable and the planet would be better off without us.

Your PC cry of concern turns itself into the river of PC hate, and a PC attack over things which happened in the past. This isn't the 1900s, it's not the 1800's nor the 1700's, nor the 100's. It's today, and we as a society should have enough intelligence to cease these stupid games.
Stuff the past, it's behind us and unchangeable. It's time everybody stopping living in the past, because all we'll do is repeat the stupidity from it.


And in reality it's all off topic, for we aren't living in past eras, and the topic is whether town enforced curfews work:

What about the odd teen who works late and bikes or walks home from work?

What if they were staying at a friends house and had to go home for whatever reason, past curfew? Do they get into trouble with the police? Get some kind of a record for breaking the city laws? Or do they somehow get excused from the curfew?

Originally Posted by Sunny

What about the odd teen who works late and bikes or walks home from work?

What if they were staying at a friends house and had to go home for whatever reason, past curfew? Do they get into trouble with the police? Get some kind of a record for breaking the city laws? Or do they somehow get excused from the curfew?

In our town, kids could only be out after curfew if accompanied by their parents or other responsible adult (ie, authorized by the parents). Of course, emergencies happened and the cops here weren't dumb or nasty. The whole idea was to ensure that a) kids weren't getting into trouble and b) parents kept track of their kids.

Originally Posted by Rustgold

And in reality it's all off topic, for we aren't living in past eras, and the topic is whether town enforced curfews work:

I agree with patskywriter. Minorities are bound to be unfairly targeted as they are today in New York City (war on drugs).

Originally Posted by Blood

I agree with patskywriter. Minorities are bound to be unfairly targeted as they are today in New York City (war on drugs).

If you're seriously of the belief we're living in the 1900's and minorities will be targeted, then you'd have to claim that minorities are targeted against with every law in existence; and therefore you'd oppose every law of the country for the same reason.

It's so obviously ludicrous, and not a fair reason to oppose a curfew law.