Juvenile Curfew Laws Ju

Juvenile curfew laws û laws that establish a time of day or night when juveniles are forbidden to be on the streets unaccompanied by an adult and subject to arrest if found by authorities û are designed for two purposes. First, as Lee F, O'Brien (1999) noted, these laws are meant to reduce the possibility that juveniles will commit crimes or victimize others; secondly, these laws are meant to protect juveniles from victimization. Curfew laws are inherently controversial in that they can be difficult to enforce, they can divert police attention from more significant offenses or potential offenses, and likely to increase the number of cases referred to the courts for adjudication (Joseph, 1999). In this brief essay, a discussion of the pros and cons of juvenile curfews will be offered, leading to the conclusion that while enforcing juvenile curfew laws may be time-consuming, expensive and difficult, such laws send a clear message to juveniles and their parents or guardians regarding societal attitudes toward adolescent behaviors.

Curfew laws are regulations which specify the hours that certain age groups must remain off public sidewalks and streets or in other public spaces. Most, but not all, American cities have some type of curfew laws in place. Such laws are generally intended to keep juveniles off the streets during certain hours (generally late evening and early morning) for their own protection and to prevent or retar

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er. In 26 cities that compiled statistics, with curfews juvenile crime dropped by an average of 21 percent. While some areas reported crime decreases of up to 50 percent, six cities said crime increased by an average of 14.5 percent after curfews were established. Seventy-two of the 276 cities with night curfews also have curfews during school hours. These data tend to reflect the belief, common among law enforcement officials and policymakers, that curfews are an effective tool in the fight against juvenile crime and an excellent strategy for controlling what takes place on city streets. The U.S. Conference of Mayors (1997) report gathered information from 347 cities with a population over 30,000. The study revealed that 9 out of 10 cities participating in the research project found that enforcing a curfew is a good use of a police officer's time. Many respondents felt that curfews represented a proactive way to combat youth violence and an excellent method of involving parents in the supervision of adolescents and in preventing juveniles from being victimized. As significantly, curfews are recognized as giving police offices probable cause to stop someone they believe might be suspicious. Equally important, ac
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