Preview

Teenage Curfew

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1118 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Teenage Curfew
Allyson Walker Teenage Curfew Laws Imagine this: you are reading a newspaper. In big, bold print is headlined “Teen Shot By Criminal Running from Cops at Midnight.” For most cities, this is not abnormal. The term “curfew” is very broad. It’s meaning and level of importance varies from area to area. Although many regions all over the world do have a law prohibiting young children to be out past a certain time, there are still many places that do not enforce these time limits. One of the easiest and most accurate ways to keep teenage children out of danger is by having a curfew law in your neighborhood. Teenage curfew laws are extremely important to have in every city, town, or neighborhood.
By definition, a curfew is a regulation requiring people to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night (Merriam-Webster). A juvenile is a young person usually below the age of eighteen. When juveniles do not have a curfew, safety is at risk. This could lead to crimes, accidents, even death. Staying in from roughly 11 P.M. to 6 A.M. will give you the power to get up and go out the next day unharmed.
Ideas of a curfew have been around since medieval times. In early France, a bell would ring in the town to alert the residents of the time. They would then put out their fires in the homes and go to bed for the night (RJ 2007). However, a widespread juvenile curfew did not become prominent until the late nineteenth century (O’Neil 2002). In 1995, 73% of cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants had curfews. By 1997, 80% with populations greater than 30,000 had curfews (Juvenile Curfews and Major Confusion over Minor Rights, 2005).
This is a serious issue regarding safety, fatalities, and the worries of your guardians or parents. Someone you know could be the next victim, if this strong matter is not taken into consideration and demanding immediate action. In a study held by the University of Milwaukee, analysts found out that “most crimes are committed between

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Curfew Law in Arizona

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Many cities in the state of Arizona have put a curfew on all kids. Kids under the age of 16 cannot be out unsupervised between 10 pm and 5 am. Kids 16-18 cannot be out during 12 am to 5 am. Our country is a free country and allows parents to control their own kids how they choose. Who is to tell a parent how to raise their kid? The government should not be allowed to bully parents and give them rules for their own kids. These curfews are not allowing parents to control their kids to their liking. Many people feel curfews hurt teens rights, are unconstitutional and ineffective. Studies show that curfew do not lower the crimes that teenagers commit. Curfews hamper the teen’s right for free speech by not letting them congregate at certain hours. They go against what America was built for - religious, political and economic freedom for all. . The 1st amendment states the right of the people peaceably to assemble. This amendment is broken by having a curfew. Many people believe curfews stop the crime rate in juveniles. However if a teenager is going to break laws what is to stop them from breaking the curfew law along with it? A curfew does nothing but restrict law-abiding citizens. The curfew law is the easiest law for teens to break, on purpose or on accident. Sometimes things such as car accidents happen, causing traffic. This later causes a teen to be late for curfew, and are caught and charged as juveniles for something that was not even their fault. Curfews are just setting teens up to be charged as juvenile delinquents. Anything that can be done during curfew can be done after and before curfew. This law is just keeping teens away for a few hours until curfew is up and they go do drugs, drink, etc… Thus there is no point to a curfew. When a child is at home during curfew they will become bored and try and figure out ways to be entertained. Some may include breaking curfew or getting high or drunk. The more teens are bored…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the years, the world has seen a rapidly increasing number of teen involvement in drunk and reckless driving cases, specifically from the time periods 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. A 12 a.m. curfew on weekends and a 10 p.m. curfew on weekdays would help to protect teens and others on the roads late at night from getting into troublesome or dangerous situations. In my town of Leesburg, Virginia, a 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. curfew is placed on anyone under the age of 18 on all days of the week. The curfew is used to minimize the amount of inexperienced teens on the road during hours where driving can be difficult due to things like fatigue and/or the influence of illegal substances. Many teens don't see the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol late at night or driving late at night at…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curfews over the years have lowered teenage crime rates by 23 percent around the world. Some people believe that Curfews do not lower the crime rates in our generation of teens. “Studies in Tulsa, Oklahoma showed that arrests rose despite the curfew law.” That might be true, but that is only in one place. Curfew laws still lower the amount of arrests in teens. Greasers are believed to be hoodlums in their society without a curfew. “Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight every once in awhile.” If the Greasers and Socs had a curfew, maybe things that happened late at night wouldn’t have happened.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curfew Persuasive Essay

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Many children under the age of 15 are immature and although age does not define maturity, the lack of life experiences can. Many children think that they are old enough to go out and stay late forgetting that they are still children and have many other years to experience life. A child can sometimes not be as wise as an older person. When they are out with their friends they can do things that could get them into trouble and all because they thought it would be fun. A child under the age of 16 should have a curfew. A curfew can help children learn that sleep is essential, they can learn about responsibility, and it could keep children safe.…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within the United States there exists a law which protects teens nationwide known as the state curfew act. The state curfew act is a law that was put in place to stop teens from going out late at night and getting in trouble. The law makes it illegal for teens to be out past a set time. This law is highly debated upon by many teens and some adults as to whether it is needed or is just an unnecessary law that infringes upon the teenagers right to freedom. Of course the law does exist for a clear purpose which in most cases it fulfills and prevents many casualties and crimes. I have wrote this paper in order to hopefully shed some light on the validity of the law by sharing some statistics such as the crime rates passed certain times as well…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Youth Curfew

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A youth curfew in Oakland is a waste of time for a lot of Police. Crime is still the same with or without a curfew and a curfew would take away teenagers freedom. At night there's danger all around Oakland and you can hear the screaming and gunshots. Many teenagers have been killed lead to many to argue that teenagers should have a curfew at night. A youth curfew would get teenagers home by 10 pm and if they stayed out past that time, a police would be allowed to pull them over to take them to jail or give them a ticket. Many teenagers have been killed at night time and most of the crime suspects are adult not the teenagers. Teenagers shouldn't have curfew because it takes away their human rights and freedom, and doesn't address the real perpetrators of violence : adults.…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many believe that teens are responsible for a large percentage of crimes, particularly violent ones, and that having a curfew in effect helps lower crime rates. This is simply not true. All minors shouldn’t be punished for something that only a few do. As a matter of fact, in some cases, applying curfew laws have actually increased juvenile crime rates. Teens begin to associate police officers with the curfew, and police officers begin to see any minor that is in violation of curfew as a criminal. This tension may lead to crimes being committed by those who may not normally break laws.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    City council notices that teens are getting into more trouble than usual lately so they decide its time to take action. However, the plain they've come up with isn't very realistic. They've proposed the adoption of a 10:00pm curfew on weekdays and midnight on weekends. This may sound like a good idea to many council members as a way to cut down on juvenile crime, however how is just a curfew going to stop them if they clearly don't care about rules, also, many teens now work late on weekdays and often get home past 10pm, and setting a curfew for teens is the right of their parents, not council. We know from events in the past that if a person is willing to brake one law, adding another law to prevent it is not going to help. These…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curfew Violation

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Curfew laws vary from state to state or city to city. Teen laws in the state of Georgia often say that any child under the age of 18 can not be out past a certain time. Then again this law varies between the cities of Georgia. Curfew laws are set to help decrease the juvenile crime rates in the start of Georgia. These laws are also out to save minors from criminals. Certain fines and charges can be held against any teens that break this law. I have learned from experience that I will not break this law again. I understand that teens want to be out late because its summer and want to hang out with friends but you cant be out roaming the town without adult supervision unless you’re above the age of 18. Most people don’t see what the big deal of being out late because they don’t seem to be doing anything wrong but they are still breaking a law. Violating curfew laws can have a variety of possible outcomes. Juveniles often get a fine or ticket depending on how the police want to deal with it. Other outcomes are that you have to be on a watch by local authorities. Even though curfew isn’t really that big of a deal it is still a law that we have to abide by with no questions asked. Police departments handle the situation sometimes based on past violations or might let you off with a warning. To save yourself from violating this law, just make sure you are inside of a place or out of harms way. The reason behind this law is to keep minors safe. There are criminals out in the world to hurt minors and this law helps keep them safe. Teens that are out past curfew are in danger of getting into even more trouble besides violating the law for curfew. Curfew laws apply to certain people that can not be out past a certain time. It is important…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Driving Privileges

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Most teenagers consider their driver’s license as their ticket to independence. With a driver’s license, minors are able to drive themselves around whether it’d be to school, work, or other activities. A driver’s license for a minor could also mean, tragic car accidents, night out at drinking parties with friends, vandalism, drug use, gang violence, and trespassing. The question we ask ourselves is, whether people under 18 be subjected to legal curfews or restricted driving privileges? Minors or those under the age of eighteen should be subjected to legal curfews and should have restrictions on their driving privileges.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although it is obvious that the world we live in is far from perfect, at times, certain figures and statistics can just be plain startling. The growing crime rate in the country is one of these statistics. It seems as time goes on, more and more crime is developing, especially juvenile crime. From 1984 to 1994, the juvenile homicide arrest rate almost tripled. On top of that, the number of gun homicides committed by juveniles quadrupled during those years also. These statistics bring us to a certain point where something must be done to decrease juvenile crime and keep teenagers safe. In our community, instating a youth curfew would be an effective way to take care of both these tasks.…

    • 737 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sixty-three percent of crimes, counting sexual assault, happens at night. Teenagers have a thirty-three to eighty-four percent chance of being a victim of sex-trafficking. Various teenagers don’t believe their parents when they say that there is a reason for their curfews, but the world we live in today has many dangers that teenagers aren’t aware of.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Curfews are a subject that is widely discussed on if they should or should not be enforced most of the people lean to enforce curfews in an effort to cut crimes that are happening late at night. Most parents would agree that teen curfew is effective in reducing the risk of teens getting into trouble. But I believe that teens shouldn’t have a curfew. I say this because not all teens are out in weird hours of the night getting into trouble so why punish all teens for others mistakes.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For every parent there is nothing worse than hearing the phone ring late at night while your teenager isn't home. There is a sense of panic that most of the time is just a false alarm from paternal or maternal instincts. However, a fraction of those parents have their fears actualized. This can be achieved through the implementation of curfew laws. Although teenagers may believe curfew laws will inhibit their freedoms, there will be greater safety because their will be more supervision during earlier hours of the night, less sleep deprivation among teenagers and other drivers, as well as greater visibility for young drivers and pedestrians. Young people are the most targeted groups for criminals in society. At night, criminals…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To many teens and young adults, curfew laws have negatively affected their lives and their viewpoints of the criminal justice system. In the essay “Curfew Laws: Demonizing Teens,” written by Nora Gold, Gold illustrates why curfew laws are bad in the U.S. and all they do is punish the teens that do not need to be punished. The main points that Gold gives to help back up her theory that curfew laws are bad are that curfews on teens take away some of their civil rights, curfews don’t actually reduce the crimes committed by teens, politicians propose curfew laws so it seems like they are being tough on crime, and also that there are other ways that will help reduce the crime among teens. One of which being after school…

    • 131 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics