Curfew for Teenagers Term Paper

Curfew for Teenagers

Curfews for teenagers have long been a tradition in communities as a way to keep young people off of the streets and out of harm's way, so to speak. A curfew is a specific time set by city officials that determines when a certain age group has to home. This becomes a law of the community, meaning violations are punishable. While curfews may seem to be in the children's best interest, it creates more problems than it solves.

One problem that stems from curfews is that it creates criminals of otherwise law abiding teenagers. If a teenager is on public streets five minutes, ten minutes or an hour past curfew, they are subject to arrest. This makes them a criminal for something that for the rest of the population is not a crime.Moreover, it categorizes or stereotypes all teenagers as delinquents, as if to say any teenager on the streets after curfew is up to no good, that they could not possibly have a legitimate excuse for being out past a certain time.

Another problem from curfews is that it creates a needless burden on the police force. While law officers should be addressing more important matters, such as real crime, they are forced to spend time rounding up teenagers who are out past curfew. Basically, it takes time away from officers who may be needed for other situations, and may also allow for real crimes to go undetected or prevented. If a teenager is committing a real crime, that's one….....