Curfew

DIGG THIS

I find it ironic the abuse our young take in this society of ours that supposedly worships the concept of youth and spends millions trying to retain it. Several years ago I went through the whole procedure of trying to keep my children out of the hands of the military recruiters in our school because I was reading about the refinancing and re-manning of the Selective Service Department and I was worried about the possibility of a draft. I thought at the time how cowardly the leaders of a country have to be to implement a draft. Forcing young men to fight, knowing full well that their reason for war wasn't good enough to convince fathers and sons to want to fight on their own. That the only way they could wage war was to threaten their own citizens with their lives if they refused to become their slaves and kill who they say. I thought, what a way to treat those that are so much younger and less wise than us, those we are to guide and protect. What a way to treat the most valuable thing we possess in our lives and in our country.

Recently, the joys of parenthood have introduced me to another issue that has revealed this cowardly attitude we project on our young. Curfew. Having now experienced the whole procedure I would like to share what I think is a good idea for the whole country.

I propose taking the curfew law you have in your fair little city and throwing it in the trash bin reserved for senseless, inefficient, costly, misguided, and unconstitutional laws.

Think about it. This law is directed at our youth for the purpose of crime prevention and yet, 87% of crime is committed by adults. Wouldn't it make more sense to apply the law to that segment of society that is committing those crimes? Of course it would, but we adults wouldn't put up with that kind of harassment for a second and yet we subject our youth to this unreasonable treatment because we have been sold a bill of goods that it is somehow necessary.

Of the 13% of crime committed by juveniles, the vast majority of that crime is committed in the afternoon, not at night, and those juveniles committing those nighttime crimes are not going to let a curfew law stop them. Can you imagine two juveniles planning a robbery and then realizing they can't go through with it because of that darn curfew law?

Any argument in favor of the curfew law relies on the presumption that the state, and not the parent, has the responsibility to police our children's actions. The fact of the matter is children belong to their parents and it's the responsibility of the parent to raise the child, not the state. Obviously not all parents do their job, but just in our small community I think it is safe to say that 95% of the parents are doing their job and don't need a police force guiding them in their parenting skills. So, we have curfew laws that target maybe 5% of families and 5% of all crime committed and yet it is enforced on 100% of our youth.

There are some very interesting results of a curfew law that need to be considered. First, it creates an us and them scenario between law enforcement and the youth over something that is not a crime. This in turn breeds resentment towards law enforcement. Kids aren't stupid and realize they're being harassed for doing harm to no one.

Second, after being caught, put in a police car, detained in a lockup facility, taken before a judge, penalized and identified as a juvenile delinquent, they then have the whole process and stigma to deal with and the results are almost always negative. There are studies that show juvenile crime actually increased after curfew laws were put in effect, which isn't hard to believe considering the fact that prison and exposure to other criminals only hardens criminals, not rehabilitates them. Exposing our children to this criminal scenario when no crime has been committed is unnecessary and foolish. The idea that you can fight juvenile crime by making juvenile criminals is ludicrous.

Third, having law enforcement become a part of family discipline actually undermines a parent's authority, not helps.

We have more than enough existing laws to cover any crime a juvenile might commit. Thinking that we are preventing crime by having a curfew is a proven fallacy and if law enforcement thinks they need it to do their job, I have a novel idea for them. If a juvenile does commit a real crime, arrest and charge him with the specific law he broke using the same process they have for the adults that commit most of the crime!

Curfew law was designed to be used temporarily to help restore order only in times of war, martial law or extreme social unrest, not permanently in peaceful and law-abiding America.

Having no curfew law will decrease the workload for all those involved with its enforcement. This misused law costs communities time and money, creates disrespect for law enforcement, does not stop crime and has been found to be unconstitutional fifty per cent of the time when challenged in court. More than enough reasons to request your city council have the enforcement of your curfew law discontinued.

The need to throw out a curfew law may seem minor in light of the loss of so many freedoms recently signed into law, but it's an act still available locally to remind those in law enforcement that our laws are for protection not harassment.

It's an act that will require explanations from your community to justify its continued use, explanations that will expose a police state mentality that so many have already embraced unknowingly.

Law enforcement already has too many tools at their disposal. Giving them the right to harass our young citizens is one tool we need to take back, if for no other reason than to let the youth know we're on their side for once.

October 12, 2007