Should young people be subjected to night-time curfews as a way to reduce crime?

In the USA they have already put in place child curfews in over 300 towns all varying in details such as time and age etc. Hoping to reduce gang activity and crime. In 1998 a law was passed to allow local councils to also impose child curfews though, as far as I know, none of them have decided upon doing so.

Do you think it would help cut down crime?

I can in a way see how this would help. I unfortunately know someone who has a daughter (now 9) but when she was 4/5 years old would allow her to play on their cul-de-sac in winter until around 7pm. I thought it was highly inappropriate and feared for the childs safety as did many people who explained this to the mother who chose to ignore everyone. If a curfew had been in place then surely it is safer for children like that? But I do feel it's not a solution to all crime problems as obviously adults also take their share of responsibility in respects to crime.

Co-CL on Mum's Club December 2008 & Great Debates

Hi

I absolutely don't agree for so many reasons, as a mum with two teenagers my boys like to go out to a friends house or they go to a weekly youth club which finishes at 10pm. If a curfew was in place then they would no longer be able to do these things.

A social life is important for kids. What I think is that rather than imposing silly curfews on our already stretched police force, councils should make more provision for teenagers, so they have things to do and places they can go. Boredom is responsible for an awful lot of petty crime and yet most youth clubs and other social clubs have closed due to lack of funding.

The way to tackle kiddy crime is to give kids constructive things they can do, either sports, hobbies or simply a safe place where they can hang out without causing a nuisance. In places where this has been trialled it has had a dramatic effect on the levls of anti-social behaviour.

My kids are well behaved and have never been in trouble, why should they be tarred with the same brush as the thugs and the yobs. What should happen is that those found guilty of anti-social behaviour should be given a curfew, I am all in favour of that, but to punish innocent kids is wrong imo. The problem is though that even if a curfew was brought in, those with parents who couldn't care less wouldn't bother to enforce it, so they would still be out on the streets causing trouble, as usual it would be the well-behaved kids who would suffer.

Target the yobs and make them and their parents pay and by all means impose a curfew order on them (for all the good it would do) but to make it apply to all kids is wrong. And of course it wouldn't tackle crimes committed by adults either, unless we have a curfew for everyone lol.

Hi,

I agree with Bumfy, criminalising all children for the actions (or potential actions) of a few is wrong. It's responsibility that helps build the character of a person not an iron fist. In homes where there is a parenting/guardianship problem a curfew would make no difference anyway imo.

Had ASBO's been around when I was a teenager I know I would have been served with them. There were plenty of official youth clubs and council funded activities, but only certain children would attend them. My group would never have been seen attending one - well maybe we'd hang around outside to pick on the "nerds" that went to them. But the middle class "do gooding" leaders didn't speak to me, and didn't really know anything about my life and so couldn't command respect as it didn't seem sincere.

In my experience, it's the services and activities that are born from this boredom/ frustration/ deprivation that work. Things set up by people who are not authority figures, but those who have "been there and done that", people who can speak to the hard to reach groups that work. People who have come from the same place as people and can be an unofficial mentor and teacher, can show people that there's more to life than what they currently have. And that there is more than 2 ways to achieve success (i.e school or crime). These can spring up anywhere and either remain informal e.g someone allowing young people to use their garage or become more formalised in a church or local centre. This way, instead of the relationship being similar to that of school i.e top down power, it's more of a network where everyone has a voice and where a whole range of skills and interested are seen as important not just sitting quietly and being good at academic things.

The danger of a curfew is marginalising those who are already on the edge of criminality and also alienating those who have done no wrong and are responsible even at a young age.

eta - things that make a bit more sense!

First off, children are not equal, I think this is a new age type of world view that everyone is as equal as another person. This is not the case. There are people more important than you, the same as some people will be less important than you. Treating children as equals will lose the authority position that a person has to have to maintain control or lay down rules, unless you want people smoking weed with the group "leader" and them being the best of friends. You could argue that children need someone who has been there and done it, sure, but you still need the boss and person in-charge, remove authority then what are they going to be like when they get a supervisor they hate in work?

By all means impose a curfew on people who are badly behaved and enforce it by using tagging technology. Might seem harsh but otherwise it wouldn't be enforced. Would I mind if all children were under a curfew and the answer is a no, I really wouldn't mind but that's because it doesn't affect me so go figure.

I'm very much a person who believes in swift and stern punishment for stepping out of line, this isn't liked by many but as the "kindness" has increased behaviour has seemed to go down hill. The main problem is parents becoming soft thinking their kids are little angels when they really aren't usually. There is a lack of discipline these days, they should learn early that rules apply to everyone and you follow them, if you don't you're punished.

How about any teenager who doesn't behave and consistently steps out of line is drafted into the army by force? They might learn some discipline there that they have clearly not learned during their childhood due to bad parenting and the "bubble wrap everyone is equal" society.

I don't believe all what I just wrote but someone has to be the devil's advocate.

Hi,

I don't think anyone has argued that everyone is equal, or that anyone should disrespect people in authority. My argument is that different people respond to people and situations and "standardised authority" in different ways. People become disaffected for all manner of reasons, and it's easy to label people as one thing when their paths to this anti social behaviour are many and varied. Often teachers, the police, social workers and other officials are seen as untrustworthy and people that bring pain. People from within a community can often reach people in ways that these experts can't.

My argument about having someone that's been in the same position as the young person they're a mentor to doesn't mean they'll be best friends or sit around smoking weed with them or whatever. It's the opposite, it means just because you might not succeed at school doesn't mean that's the end of your life. At the moment we seem to have a huge push towards education or X Factor being the only way to achieve, with some people feeling that their opportunities are at an end by the time they're 16. So some groups of people are hard to reach in standard ways. It's easy to criminalise these people thinking they should just either fall through the gap and end up in the criminal justice system or try to force them into an educational system that just doesn't fit their needs.

The benefit of people from the community helping is all about expanding horizons and expectations. Showing in an informal way that there is more to life than what is happening today. It's about changing a mindset and showing that authority and personal responsibility are not negative things and that your life and the relationships you have with individuals, groups and society in general can be changed.