Curfews
Curfews are thought of as a great way to stop children from being out during the night, and doing something they shouldn’t. But what if I told you they do very little to stop crime among youth, and can punish innocent teens and parents. A study in low-class neighborhoods of Washington DC found that after a new curfew was put in place, incidences of gun violence did not get better at all. In one incident, a teenager named Isaiah Smith was throwing a football with his friend on the way back to his house, and was punished for breaking curfew. Also, curfew fines average to cost five hundred dollars, and all that money is obviously paid by the parents. This is why curfews are a waste of money, and should be put to an end across America.
…show more content…
Except this curfew did the opposite; during this period gun violence in the area actually increased. The increase in violence was explained perfectly by former chief of police, Jeffrey Harvath, who said, “People that are determined to commit crime are going to commit crime, even if that means violating a curfew.” The most effective deterrent of crime is simply increased police patrol, not a curfew. Curfews can punish innocent youth for doing otherwise completely innocent and legal things, just because they’re outside after a certain time. Like Isaiah Smith who was fined hundreds of dollars because of a local curfew. “I once got in trouble for tossing a football at ten o’clock.” Fining teens who are playing catch with their friends should not be a priority for police. Furthermore, teens should not have to be supervised by their parents to be outside when it’s dark out, they are not little