Are Curfews Fair to Juveniles? Cities across the United States have imposed curfews on juveniles for many years. Teen curfew laws restrict the hours that juveniles may be on the streets or in public places at night (Sutphen and Ford). Some people consider curfews infringing on people’s constitutional rights. Curfews are hard to implement by law enforcement, and, in fact, take law enforcement away from more serious crimes. More crimes occur during daytime hours and more children are victimized in their homes than on the streets. Although curfews are made to protect our juveniles and to deter crime by juveniles, does imposing these curfews violate the juvenile’s civil rights and target the true underlying problems involved in enforcing …show more content…
It is hard for law enforcement to enforce curfews and curfew violations are not taken seriously. Juvenile curfews will not stop young people who are intent on committing crime, in part, because the penalties for a curfew violation are not that serious (O 'Neil). There are also limited police officers to help with the enforcement of curfews. Because of the curfews, it takes the police away from more serious crime that are happening in cities across the United States. The enforcement of juvenile curfews is hard to put into effect, and there are limited police officers to enforce these curfews, which are often not even taken seriously.
Crimes by juveniles occur more often during the day than at night. When either both parents work, or there is a single parent household, juveniles must come home from school alone. Since juveniles are left unsupervised, they sometimes commit crimes and these crimes usually occur during the day. Those opposed to curfews replied that most juvenile crimes occurred in daylight hours, that most children were not criminals, and that many legitimate nocturnal activities were being suppressed (Juvenile Curfews and the Major Confusion Over Minor Rights). Since most juvenile crimes occur during the day, why should a curfew be imposed on juveniles?
One of the main reasons juvenile curfews were imposed, was to protect the juveniles from the dangers that could occur during the late hours of the night. Although
My opinion is that curfew was set to protect minors but, there are plenty of reason why a minor would be out passed curfew and there should be system where some minors can exempt the law like having parental permission.
Although having a curfew for it to be illegal for teenagers to be on the streets after ten o’clock p.m. on weekdays or after midnight on weekends would be beneficial in exceptional and deficient ways, many citizens will disagree with having a curfew. The eminently important reason Dierks, Arkansas, should have a teenage curfew is for the security of the teenagers. Another reason is for the parent to have control over their child, instead of their child being undisciplined. On the other hand, having a curfew could hinder maturity.
Another important factor is the way in which the enforcers respond to the curfew violators. Sometimes, these minors may not be out after hours because they want to, but because they have no other choice. There are some children who do not have anybody to look after them so they have to make things happen on their own. It is important to be very delicate in situations like this because it could trigger some emotions from the child and they may already be going through a tough time.
The purpose of the curfew is to keep minors safe by preventing them from congregating in public areas. Children who loiter for several hours are in danger of either becoming involved in potential criminal behavior or becoming
By having a curfew it stops teens from committing crimes,doing drugs,and drinking alcohol.Making a curfew gives teens less time to do these things.If they made a curfew these teens wouldn’t be able to get ahold of drugs and alcohol.From 1995 to 1999,curfew have dropped the amount of minor arrest for violent crimes by 23 percent.When Pony and Johnny were out late,a crime was committed.Johnny had killed a Soc named Bob out of self-defense.If there was a curfew,this crime would have never happened.
Although, Some people say that a curfew is not necessarily for keeping teens out of trouble. It is for keeping the town quiet at night and gives everyone some peaceful rest at night. In the article, “Manitoba town to ban kids at night”, the mayor of Killarney, Manitoba sates,” ‘It’s not that we have a big crime problem, we just have some youngsters out to all hours of the night disturbing the peace.’ ” An easier method for this is just to have a few police working at night to ensure peace. A demanding curfew that punishes many for doing nothing is simply unnecessary. “‘Ultimately, curfew laws don't make us more safe, but they make us less free,’ says Joe Cook, executive director of the Dallas ACLU” (Rosado and Manly).
Laws are set yearly for the for the well being of citizens. Many of the laws pertain specifically to minors, one of them being curfews. The law states, Children under the age of 18 years old are to be home by 11:00 p.m. . For many teens this law seems unfair; they believe that curfews limits their freedom. Therefor teens fail to realize that there is good reasoning for those limitations. I belive children under the age of 18 years old should have an 11:00 p.m. curfew because it limits crime in the community, establish discipline in children, and helps teens become academically prepared.
In today’s society, many people fear that if teens are out late they are participating in mischief or that they are more likely to be involved in criminal activity. Many feel that by creating a city wide curfew for teens crime would be reduced. However, in reality, most crimes are committed during the day by adult offenders, not by individuals under the age of 18. A curfew for teens would not be the right way to go.
Just because they have a curfew it doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to get in trouble. It may limit the things they do. Which in turn limits the trouble they get in, but it doesn’t stop them from doing things to get them in trouble. (Wylie Tanton said on April 11, 2012 “I personally think teens shouldn't have a curfew because whether or not they have curfew teens still get themselves into trouble, not only during the night. http://www.collegenet.com/elect/app/app?service=external/Forum&sp=42891)
You can't tame a wild mustang, so why try and control teenager who wants as many freedoms as possible. Curfews set by the Government may seem like a good idea, but it's not. The idea of laws enforcing a curfew for teenagers is not a good one, it unfairly takes away a teenagers freedom. If there is a law about a curfew and a teen does not like it, there is a high chance that they will just stay out past curfew. Curfew in a household is specified by the parents. If the parents and child both state their case on a time, and agree on it, the child will keep their word. If there is a law enforcing a curfew, there will not always be a way for teens to try and negotiate a fair time, like they could if their parents decided the time they had to be
Curfew is a set time which teenagers will have to schedule their activities around. Generally, this curfew doesn’t change and helps your teen to understand boundaries. It is a wonderful idea for teens to have curfews because it teaches them to be responsible and also considerate of other people around them. As teenagers, it is natural for adolescents to feel like their freedoms are being taken away and that their parents don’t know what is best. However, curfew is put in place for the direct opposite, which is keeping teenagers out of trouble. Curfew teaches teenagers time management, it could lower the crime rate in local areas, and it could give teenagers an overall better relationship with their parents. Because of these reasons, I
One other reason why curfews keep teens out of trouble is that curfews set by parents are a way of showing that the parents care about the teen. (Boekestein, 2010) suggests that teens actually want to spend time with their parents but do not know how to. A curfew is the brainchild of parents all over the world to make sure that their teen is safe and also to be able to spend quality time with them while they still can. Without the curfew, teens would spend all their time with their friends but miss out on the most important people of all, which are their parents. Although it might not seem that curfews are a way to spend time with the teen, it surely is. According to (Boekestein, 2010), a teen said what all teens were trying to say, which is they don’t care about other things in life, they love their parents and would like to spend more time with them than they normally do. A teen also said that he only talks to his parents in the car or during dinner as their hectic schedule demands the parents to be on their toes all the time.
Teen curfews violate rights. “Just because young people are out at night does not mean that they are participating in anti-social behavior.”(Do Curfews Punish Innocent Teens? 1). Teenagers are being age discriminated just because they are a certain age doesn’t mean they participate in illegal activity after curfew. There is also no proof that curfews actually make teen crime go down. This makes teen curfews even more discriminating to teenagers. (Do Curfews Punish Innocent Teens? 1). “Opponents also argue that there is no proof yet that youth curfews lower teen crime. They point out that the overall crime rate in the United States is going down—so the recent drop in teen crime is to be expected.”(Do Curfews Punish Innocent Teens? 1).
Many parents tell their kids that if they want something they have have to pay for it; but what they don’t get is that it’s hard to get a job as a teen. It is especially hard for teens under the age of 17 if there is a curfew. Many teenagers have after school activities, sporting events, or a school club. So if parents want their kids to get a job how are they going to be able to if they have to do their homework, study, or go to practice or a game if they can’ be out past 9:00? This is another reason why a curfew is not necessary.
Having a teenage curfew is ineffective and useless. Many people argue that the curfews are necessary because it will keep young people out of trouble. They also say that teenagers are more likely to get in trouble late than they would during daylight. Teens are looked at as the age group that causes the most trouble, and society targets them when it comes to matter for crime, however many people believe that teens are responsible for a large percentage of crimes and that having a curfew in effect will help lower crime rates. I disagree with this because I don't think teenagers should be forced to follow a ridged time schedule because of a curfew.