December 9, 2013

Michayla Berthiaume

ENGL 102

Rogerian Argument

30 October 2013

Trouble with the Curfew: Parents versus Teenagers

For many years in the United States, there have been curfews enforced on teenagers by both the law and by parents. The main purpose of these measures is to keep teenagers off the streets and into their houses after a certain time to reduce crime, to keep them safe, to prevent driving under the influence, and to lessen being influenced to commit crimes; however, the trouble teenagers get into at night is just as accessible during the day. Getting into car accidents with friends, getting kidnapped, doing drugs or committing crimes, do not just happen after midnight. Situational curfews and parental enforcement impact teenagers to make more responsible decisions, but teenagers are more likely to rebel when they are restricted.

A curfew is a regulation requiring certain or all people to leave the streets or be at home at a prescribed hour. It is normally enforced on teenagers and the main purpose is to keep kids safe. According to Favro, curfews can be enforced not only by parents, but in some places like Philadelphia and Detroit it is a law ("City Mayors”). In other places, there are also curfew laws on driving as in Rhode Island; there is a nighttime driving restriction that prohibits teenagers under 18 from driving between one to five o’clock in the morning (“RI Driving Permit Rules”). A permitted driver can drive during this time if you are traveling to/from an employment or school related activity for which no other transportation is available or when you have a supervising driver seated next to you (“RI Driving Permit Rules”). This curfews primary purpose is to prevent accidents, but the problem is, it is not strictly enforced and unless a teenager was to get pulled over for doing something illegal, cops will not know your age and if you are violating the curfew laws. The consensus of society says that curfews keeps kids safe, prevents accidents and lessens the chances of them being involved in or committing a crime. Teenagers are always safer in their own homes and having a curfew with consequences would help them make smarter choices about the decisions they make before coming home, or so most think. In theory a curfew would always sound like a sensible solution, but there is a vast difference between ideal and real.

The problem with teenagers and putting a restriction on curfews is that because the rules say no, teenager’s rebel. It is just like with the drinking age being 21, those who are underage still drink and sometimes drink more than those of age just because it’s illegal and a way to rebel. The danger not only comes from what could happen if kids did not have a curfew, but also how teenagers could lie and find a way around doing things they are not supposed to do. Every crime that is committed at night can be done during the day. Just like in Detroit, the crime rate dropped 6 percent during curfew hours, but increased 13 percent during the mid-afternoon (Jonathan Zimmerman). Typical behavior at a teenage party is to drink, smoke or do drugs, and parents think that by restricting the teenagers to certain hours of the night that it will stop the deviant behavior, but teenagers will somehow find a way to still drink and smoke either during the day, or lying as to where they are supposed to be staying over that night. When teenagers start to lie about where they are and who they are with to avoid getting in trouble, the parents then have no control over what is happening and if they were to go missing or something happen the parents would have no answers as to where they were last seen, who they were with, or what they were doing. Some parents even argue to the extreme that these law enforced curfews infringe on their role as parents to make and decide their own rules. The city asserts that the ordinance promotes ‘parental supervision' of minors… But the curfew fails to offer parents enough flexibility or autonomy in supervising their children (Tony Farvo). This statement concludes that parents don’t have the chance to discipline their kids as they see fix and carry out situational curfews and ultimately have control over their child.

The world fifty years ago is not the same as it was today, but in some ways it may be better. Every grandparent has stories of being outside all afternoon with their friends and their curfew was coming home for dinner solely for the purpose of their parents knowing something was not wrong. There were no cell phones during their day and curfews seemed to be more of a necessity. In today’s world parents can know the exact location of their kids with an app. We now live in a world of technology where it is pretty easy to get in touch with just about anyone and in all cell phones is a GPS. If teenagers are not going to make curfew, are in some kind of trouble, or need to get ahold of their parents, or vice versa, they can simply pick up the phone and call. For parental enforced curfews there should be a better system such as situational curfews depending on who and where the individual is going. This will help the teenager gain more respect for the parents, and it will make teenagers less likely to violate the curfew.

Curfews are popular among adults because they are inexpensive in relation to other crime-fighting tools, and they are easy to understand. If a child is home in their own house they are safe and therefore not getting into any real trouble. However, there is little evidence that says that these curfews actually deter crime and reduce juvenile victimization (Tony Farvo). In the earlier years curfews had a simpler solution to keep kids off the streets, but today they are trying to solve more complex problems. In some places like San Antonio, Texas, Cincinnati and New Orleans, curfews did decrease the crime rate but no one really knew how or why because there could be too many determining factors (“City Mayors”). Cities everywhere enact their curfews in different ways. Also, how and when they begin carrying out the curfews makes it difficult to do a study and test the effectiveness of curfews. While the effectiveness and constitutionality of curfews will continue to be studied and debated in universities, courts, and City Halls, what seems clear is that, at best, a curfew is a tool to identify a problem, not a solution (Tony Favro).

Curfews provide both positive and negative functions to society. A curfew at night for teenagers will keep them off the streets and prevent them from being involved and committing crimes. However, crime that is committed at night can be committed during the day and the effectiveness of the curfews is often questioned. If there was no state or city enforced curfew only parental enforced curfew, parents may have more control over their teenagers and be able to dictate the curfews based on who their child is with, and what they are doing. This could help to create more respect and trust for each other, and in the long run it could help stop crimes. Curfews are only enforced and likeable to some because of their short term ability to stop nighttime crime at a low cost. The problem is it does nothing for the long term effect of crime, it is only a temporary solution.

 

Works Cited

"Do Curfews Keep Teens out of Trouble?" The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.debate.org/opinions/do-curfews-keep-teens-out-of-trouble>.

Favro, Tony. "City Mayors: Youth Curfews in US Cities." City Mayors: Youth Curfews in US Cities. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.citymayors.com/society/usa-youth-curfews.html>.

"Rhode Island Learners Permit Restrictions - RI Driving Permit Rules." Education4 Drivers.com. N.p., 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://education4drivers.com/rhode-island/permit-restrictions-rules.htm>.

Zimmerman, Jonathan. "Curfews Don't Keep Kids out of Trouble." NewsWorks. N.p., 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/thats-history/28876-curfews-dont-keep-kids-out-of-trouble>.