Are curfews effective against crime?? [9]

By Kristy Gillentine
Eagle Staff Writer
1. Juvenile crime rate down in Bryan
2. Curfew looks to limit juvenile crime

This was actually two articles, but they were both by the same author about the same topic so put them together. The juvenile crime rate in Bryan was pretty high, so the Bryan police decreased to enforce a curfew in order to bring it down. When they did the number of citations issued to juveniles decreases along with the number of juvenile witnesses to crime, juvenile victims and reported runaways. Two areas slightly increases, the juveniles solicited as suspects and the number of graffiti incidents. The curfew helps the police keep the kids off of the streets during the summer. Jackie Maynard says “It creates a partnership between police and parents.”

Are curfews effective against crime?? [8]

Boy, 15, wins curfew legal battle

BBC NEWS

This article talks about how a 15-year-old boy has won a landmark High Court challenge to the legality of child curfew zones used to tackle anti-social behavior. The boy is described as a model student, he says, "Of course I have no problem with being stopped by the police if I've done something wrong, but they shouldn't be allowed to treat me like a criminal just because I'm under 16.

Are curfews effective against crime?? [7]

The Impact of Juvenile Curfew Laws in California
By Daniel Macallair

A study was done to see if curfews helped cut back juvenile curfew in California. The study showed that youth curfews do not reduce youth crime. For the entire state of California, there was no category of crime, misdemeanors, violent crime, property crime, ect, which significantly declined in association with youth curfews. However, a significant increase in youth misdemeanors was associated with youth curfews. Just African-American youth or Latino youth, the study found that youth curfews associated with no significant effect on crime. The study did find that for White and Asian youth, curfews associated with an increase in crime.

Are curfews effective against crime?? [6]

Can curfew cut crime?
By Brandon Bryn

The article talks about how D.C. residents are reacting to the new curfew. It seems like many people really do not think it will do much good. Others think that some action is better then no action. On the page, people were able to leave comments and one off the comments was from Gary Caddell who has worked as a juvenile Probation Officer for the past 27 years. In the comment, she suggests that they have a fine for the parents to help the curfew work.

Are curfews effective against crime?? [5]

Life of crime
By Peter Gould's report

This article talks a lot about alcohol in teens. Some of people think that it would be a good idea to enforce a curfew. Others think that it would be unfair for the teens who aren't drinking and causing problems.40% of violent crime, 78% of assaults and 88% of criminal damage cases are committed while the offender is under the influence of alcohol. Drunkenness is now the acceptable sign of a good night out. Aggression and thuggery, fuelled by drink, is rapidly increasing. There are not enough police officers patrolling the streets. There is a total disregard for common decency.

Are curfews effective against crime?? [4]

Groups fear mayor's anti-crime bill invades privacy
By Michael Zimmerman

This article comes from a different view. It lets the readers know that many times teens under 18 are not the ones committing the crimes, but yet they are being punished for them. The city is already spending a lot of money on police overtime and cameras in neighborhoods. The mayor thinks it would be a better idea to have some after school programs, more jobs, trade schools for those older kids that do not go to college, mentoring programs and recreation centers for older kids and those that will stay open until curfew.

Are curfews effective against crime?? [3]

Minor Restrictions: The Challenge of Juvenile Curfews

by Anthony Crowell

This article talks about juvenile crime rates. In 1990 juveniles in Dallas committed 40 murders, 91 sex offenses, 233 robberies, and 230 aggravated assaults. City leaders reporter that homicides most commonly occurred between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., aggravated assaults between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., and rapes between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Curfews are both politically powerful and divisive tools for local crime control. The impact of curfews on crime and delinquency nationally still has not been studied, but many local governments have reported that curfews have helped reduce crime during curfew hours. Curfews opponents agree that juvenile crime and violence prevention are serious problems, they argue that it will not significantly reduce crime because only law abiding, nontroublemaking teenagers will obey them. Another concern is that unequal or discriminatory curfew enforcement will result in high-crime, urban-minority communities in which backyards or other curfew-exempt areas where youth can congregate are not prevalent. The law prohibited anyone in Dallas under 17 years of age from occupying a public place between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weeknights, and midnight and 6 a.m. on weekends. But curfews do not apply to juveniles if they were: accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or someone at least age 18 with minor's parental approval; traveling interstate or returning from school, civic, or religious organization-sponsored function; returning home from a place of employment; running an errand for a parent or guardian; involved in an emergency; occupying a sidewalk in front of their own, or neighbor's home; or exercising First Amendment rights. Before passing a curfew the local government must consider a number of things. They need to have a clear purpose for their curfew. Local government could prepare detailed reports highlighting juvenile offender and victim statistics. They should track crime occurring during the proposed curfew hours, including such violent crimes as murder and rape, property destruction, theft, and gang-related offenses. The information should be broken down by age group and be collected and maintained by the local police agency to ensure consistency. The government officials have to realize that in order for the curfews to work they have to use as complete as other crime control and social welfare measures. In addition, they will need increased funding for community policing, anti-gang, anti-gun, anti-drug initiatives and better rehabilitation programs for juvenile offenders.