What Do You Think of My Curfew Law Idea?

What in the hell are you talking about? I am a mom of two teens. They are not out wandering around at night and they don't need to be. If they need to "star gaze" we have a backyard for that. We don't live in an area where you can walk to anywhere. At 11pm on school nights, they belong in bed or working hard on homework for their AP classes. The latest my 17 has been out at night herself is driving herself home from a diner after HS play performances at midnight, and there is no law against that since she has a senior license. My kids are not out wandering.

IIf you look up status offenses you find that youth don't really have the same rights as adults. If they did they could have sex with anyone they wanted to at any age. If they wanted to drink a bottle of gin per day they could, they could smoke, and any other thing that an adult can chose to do that is a legal right.

Kids need boundaries. Kids don't need to be outside after a certain time of night unless they're with their parents or under supervision.

If they want to stroll along looking at the moonlight they need to be doing that with a parent.

So is this the newest topic for your research?

UGH, Are you not out of school yet?

When you are the mother of a teen who has YOUR car out on a date, THEN you can tell me that they are moongazing.

It would be interesting to know what you are like 20 years from now when you grow up some and see what life is really like from an adult perspective.

Again....DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!

The police *already* respond to anyone calling in a threatening situation. Are you proposing that they KEEP doing their job? They do regularly bring in those 'at-risk' teens, runaways, etc. So this would be rather redundant, I suppose.

Oh, and I'm sorry, but "even if a youth shouldn't be out so late it's none of our business telling them what they should or shouldn't do" is absolutely BS. If someone is young enough to be considered a 'youth' that means that mom and dad are paying for the roof over their head, the clothes on their back and the food they eat. In short, it IS someone's business.

N., 'fess up already.... who is the euphemistic "we" to which you refer? I'm sure legitimate lawmakers don't use Mamapedia as as polling ground. We'd all appreciate a little honesty on your part. Otherwise, this is the last question of yours I'm answering.

This has been bugging me all day, so I need to add it: one of my sisters started running away when she was 15 or so and on until she was an adult. Repeatedly, and probably related to a very bad home situation in combination with her having bipolar disorder. It was horrible not knowing where she was. If it hadn't been for curfew laws things could have been a lot worse for her. She was just a young kid hanging out, not hurting anyone... but curfew laws were responsible for her being brought home on more than one occasion. Home life was admittedly terrible, but knowing she wasn't out sleeping with god knows who to find a place for the night, doing heaven-knows-what... to me, this justifies the long arm of the law.

Thank you too, SH, for saying what I've been thinking all day.

Well, after googling and finding out that most curfew laws start at 11pm on weekdays and 12 am on weekends, I'd say the laws make sense and are reasonable. Any kid that is still in high school should be home by then.

So, since you are a law student or something and don't actually have children, there's your answer. We don't need a change. Parents need to do their job. Kids should be home at that hour.

Haven't you ever heard the saying, "Nothing good happens after midnight?"

It's true.

Were you dropped on your head (repeatedly) as a child?

There are many reasons why curfews exist. We have curfews here and they never effect my children. Why? Because neither of my children are out and about during the times that the curfew is in effect. I don't know about in other states, but here the curfews don't start at a decent hour. During the school year and school day it starts at 11:00 pm and ends at 6:00am. During the weekend it starts at Midnight. Children should not be out and about during those hours.

My question would be, why do you feel it is necessary or okay for children to be walking the street at One O'clock in the morning?

Police only approaching youths deemed to be participating in " threatening" behaviour will lead to many problems for them. Why? Because its profiling. What one officer deems threatening, the next may not, and we would all be silly to think race wouldn't play into that. Not just for black people, but all ethnic groups, which ones would depend on where a person lives. It's asking for trouble. Saying all youths under 17 cannot be out during a certain time limits/prevents that.

Now in my state, there are exceptions, older teens may be coming home from work or on their way to work ( am hrs) and as long as they have proof of that they are not in violation. That's a legit reason to be out after curfew.

In my area children travel far via metro to schools all over, so leaving early is a must. If they are on their way to school (am) they are not in violation of curfew.

Last exception, if you are with a parent, you are fine, but even then you are usually on a legit commute.

I get what you are saying, but the bottom line children, do not need to be hanging out in the streets during the middle of the night. I don't know any child/youth who takes midnight walks to look at the moon. Night photography is cool and some of the best nature photos needs to be taken early in the morning before traffic and before sunrise sometimes. Yes, youths can be into photography, but would you really let your say 15 year go out by themselves to take those pictures? You would probably be with them and they would not be in violation. ( In my area, can't speak for others)

Aside for the reasons listed I don't know any legit reason for a child to be out all night and those that are, are up to no good. Curfews are needed and I like them.

ETA: Was curious so I checked out your previous questions. Do you dislike any law that dictates what parents must do? Or are you a student, playing devils advocate, perhaps?

I think curfew laws are ridiculous. Courts in NYC have deemed them unconstitutional. If a kid is committing a crime - he should be approached/dealt with in the same fashion as he would be whether it is noon or midnight. If he is not committing a crime - the police should mind their own business and focus on actual crime. Waste of police time and manpower.

There is no reason for kids under the age of 18 to be out and about after midnight without adult supervision.

They want to look at the moon.. Go into the back yard, once it is dark or get their parents to go with them into the country...

The reason for curfews are many.. Here in town, many teens are trying to get into bars. They are immature and get into fights. Or they become victims to people that take advantage of them.. Boys and girls here were the results of a huge expensive study done here of arrest for vandalism, public intoxication,fights, robberies drunk driving.. A very large percentage were underaged people.

Curfews should start at home, but since parents are not willing or able to control their own children, the city gov. And police have to do this.

Better to be proactive, with the documented information, than to be reactive and suffer the loss of lives and cost to our community be ignoring the documented information.

In our city curfews DO reduce crime. Sorry, but I support these laws. Children do not have the same rights as adults. The laws you are describing already exist.

Um....your "Idea" is so wrong on so many levels...

Another poll type question. LOL I retired as a police officer 20 years ago and remember that we did not enforce curfew. Curfew laws were seen as a violation of youth's rights. We had to have another reason to take a minor into custody. We could stop and take action if we suspected that their safety was at risk. This policy did not present a problem, that I recall.

I thought that curfew laws had been taken off the books in Oregon. I see, however, that Oregon does have a curfew statute. Perhaps what I remember was a county policy or perhaps the law was enacted again.

When you say that "police can only stop young people in situations that appear threatening or who are causing trouble" you are stating what can already be done with adults. This is the "probable cause" that a stop requires. There is no need for a separate low concerning youth.

I don't understand your last two paragraphs.

A curfew ALLOWS law enforcement to decide whether or not to stop and talk to a teen that is out at night.

Many times teens are out after curfew for legal reasons.... driving back from a sanctioned school or church event, or from a job.

The law doesn't REQUIRE the law enforcement officials to stop and talk to every teen they see out in the evening..... it just gives them the means to help harness what could become potentially unlawful behavior.

What do I think about teenagers/college kids on the internet, mamapedia, asking people to do their homework for them?
I think you should do your OWN work instead of asking for us to do it for you.
L.

I hate the idea of curfew laws. We generally don't have them here in Canada, except in a few communities where high crime has warranted such laws. As a teen I had lots of freedom, and managed not to get into any major trouble. I had a car, a job, went to school, belonged to the cadets, I enjoyed camping... I had many reasons to be out late at night, and I was never bothered by police because I was never breaking any laws. My parents trusted me because I never gave them any reason not to.

If a kid wants to be out gazing at the moon at 3am, he should do it on his own property. Most people have some sort of yard, or porch. I'm sure even in NYC there are steps to sit on. When I was a kid, my curfew was 10:30, and back then I thought it was ridiculous. My parents raised all us kids saying "nothing good happens after 10:30". Well, as a parent with 2 high schoolers, I can say that they were right. Kids do stupid stuff lots of times, and don't need to be out loitering around in the middle of the night. It just promotes trouble, no matter how "good" the kids are. Curfews are put in place, because lots of parents don't parent their kids.

Are you a sociology major?

sistah!
i'm voting for you!
khairete
S.

I don't mind helping you with homework. I love curfew laws. I think it benefits society on a number of levels:
1. It strengthens families.
2. It cuts down on unwed pregnancies.
3. It helps girls self esteem of teens
4. It is financially rewardign for parents
5. It will cut down on car accidents.