Parents Shouldn’t Give Children Curfews

     Over the years, there has been a long debate about whether parents should implement curfews in their homes as a way to keep their children away from crime or harm, to keep order in the household. Although this is true, studies have shown that curfews aren’t as effective as people believe them to be.  
     Several studies have been conducted to determine if curfews are useful to cities and homes, and they showed they are not effective.According to the news outlet, WHYY, in 1976, Detroit implemented a curfew for children that lasted from 10 P.M to 9 A.M. A study done on this showed juvenile crime dropped by six percent, but mid afternoon crimes rose 13 percent. The news outlet, BrandonGaille, covered a study done in Monrovia, California, a city that had a daytime curfew. They discovered that crime rose by 53 percent during curfew hours, and it decreased by 12 percent while the curfew was suspended. 
     I believe there is enough evidence that suggests that curfews do not automatically keep children safe from danger, but there have been results where curfews are useful in keeping kids safe. I am not discrediting curfews as being completely useless, but people need to understand their children can be in the middle of danger at anytime, and that’s reality.  
Curfews will not prevent children from staying out of trouble, as they can easily go looking for it before their set curfew time. Anyone can be kidnapped, go rob a store, or commit any other crime, and it can take place in the m​iddle of the day.  
    From my personal experiences, I can attest to this. I have witnessed several family members, teens, get arrested for vandalism or doing drugs, and they occurred before the sun goes down.  
Although there is enough information that suggests curfews are completely effective, it has been useful to a lot of families. There are many families who set curfew for their children, and it works like a charm. 
    Parents should not give their children a curfew because they are ineffective and fail to show significant change in juvenile crime. The police should not be involved in the decision making whether a parent will assign a curfew. Parents and their children should come to agreement on set terms for when they are out of the house.

Reporter: Andrew Camberos