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Monday, March 30, 2009

Curfew's Work

Because of the rise in rates of juvenile crime from the 1980s through the mid-1990s, many of the nation's jurisdictions imposed youth curfews. A 2000 survey of 490 cities by the National League of Cities found that 69% (337) had nighttime curfews and 14% (68) had daytime curfews. Thirty-five of the cities surveyed reported that they were considering adopting a curfew.

Most curfew laws restrict juveniles to their home or property between the hours of 11P.M. and 6 A.M. weekdays, allowing them to stay out later on weekends. The laws allow exceptions for young people going to and from school, church events, or work, and for youths who have a family emergency or are accompanied by their parents. Critics of such ordinances argue that they violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and abridge parental rights. The critics also argue that no studies have proven the effectiveness of curfew laws.

GO HERE to see more.

http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1690/Juvenile-Crime-Victimization-CURFEWS.html

3 comments:

Chimera said...

Everytime a town on the Shore has tried to enact a curfew,the AC-to hell-with-you has come out of the woodwork declaring it to be racist,unjust,etc. Crisfield as recently as last year wanted to set a curfew in place but got shot down.Never mind they arrest juveniles as young as 13 on a weekly for CDS,stealing,etc. If the parents fail to their jobs,then whats "unjust" about making kids stay off the streets after dark?

Anonymous said...

Oh so lets run and hide from this radical group I say confront the ACLU.

Anonymous said...

Right or wrong? Constitutional or non? A good debate, but drastic times call for drastic measures (sorry to sound so cliche). I think a curfew is a great idea. There's nothing but negativity out on these streets at those times of night, so get these kids off 'em.

Rob S