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Teen curfew laws have been praised by many as a remedy for an out of control Juvenile crime rate. Laws like these gained popularity in the 1970’s when Juvenile crime skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. These rates seemed to be just a momentary evil and went back down in the early 1980’s. However, crime rates for Juveniles seemed to grow out of control in the late 1980’s through early 1990’s especially with the momentary evil of gangs. This war on gangs and drugs helped rekindle the idea that teen curfew laws are needed. In 1990, 93 (47%) of the 200 American cities with populations of 100,000 or more had curfews in place. By 1995, 146 (73%) of these cities had enacted and implemented teen curfew laws. Accordingly, in 1995 there were as many as one thousand American cities of all populations’ sizes with teen curfew (Ruefle and Reynolds).
Teen curfew laws restrict the hours that juveniles may be on the streets or in public places after certain hours. “A teen curfew is justified in many cities or municipalities as a simple method to not only reduce opportunities for teens to commit crimes, but also to protect them from becoming victims” (Sutphen and Ford). C
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Another work that is related to my research is the Males and Macallair from 1999. I would like to see if police presence is greater and more harshly enforced in the “better” neighborhoods. Of all the findings, the most applicable and significant was that none of the counties with higher rates of curfew enforcement showed a significant decrease in juvenile arrests for any kind of crime. They found that several cities placed curfews as a hedge against “geographical displacement” of juvenile crime, or because all the other surrounding areas where passing it (peer pressure or domino effect). “Fifty nine (77%) of these largest cities had curfew ordinances by mid-1994. Then I would like to compare all these results to more upper-class neighborhoods.
Sutphen and Ford’s article examined the effects of a teen curfew on juvenile arrest rates and reviews the first year of the curfew’s implementation in a city with a population of more than 200,000 residents. There has also been no requirement to provide evidence that curfew laws have curtailed crime or reduced juvenile victimization in cities (Sutphen and Ford). ” Curfews have become increasingly more important instruments of the crime control approach to justice, which emphasizes accountability and more sever sanctioning of offenders (Guy, Feld). Through these methods I believe it could reveal that police do arrest more minorities for juvenile crime, and likewise, ticket them for curfew violation, but I also think it would show a disproportionment of police activity in traditionally lower class areas. The disparity between curfew violations and incidence of arrest for juveniles needs to be studied more in-depth. They have also been endorsed as a supplement to parenting since they make sure that teens are inside after a certain hour. urfews are promoted as beneficial to law enforcement; they give police additional levels of control over teens that might be out at the time of night when most people think crime occurs.
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