In Los Angeles, California, three teens were arrested and escorted away in a police car for being out on the streets after 10 p.m. They weren’t doing drugs, drinking alcohol, or stealing; their crime was being out past curfew. In Los Angeles, it is illegal for youth under the age of 18 to be out past 10 p.m. without an adult escort.

A teen curfew, or juvenile curfew, is not unique to Los Angeles. Many large cities, and some smaller cities and towns, have invoked curfews. They became popular in the 1990s when President Clinton recommended instituting teen curfews in an attempt to eliminate juvenile crime. They typically apply to youth under 18, and the punishment is normally a fine that brings in revenue to the city. Although teen curfews are common, people have very different opinions about whether they are actually beneficial. 

Supporters of teen curfews say that keeping youth off the streets during nighttime hours keeps them safer. It reduces the possibility that they will commit a crime or be the victim of a crime. Some cities, such as Vicksburg, Mississippi, have instituted a teen curfew after a teen was hurt or killed. Supporters also claim that, if there are fewer people on the streets at night, incidents are less likely to happen. After the city of Bryan, Texas, instituted a teen curfew, the number of juvenile victims and juvenile criminal activity dropped significantly.

However, many studies have actually found that nighttime teen curfews are not usually successful in reducing juvenile crime, since juvenile crime peaks in the late afternoon. Opponents of teen curfews argue that having fewer people on the streets actually makes them more dangerous. The more people on the street, the more people there are to see, or potentially stop, a crime. Therefore, the busier the street, the less likely a crime is to occur. 

Perhaps the most significant argument against teen curfews is that they disproportionately affect youth of color. An FBI report found that Black youth were 269 percent more likely to be arrested for breaking curfew than white youth. This may be in part because police are more likely to be sent to high-crime neighborhoods, and these neighborhoods often have a disproportionate number of teens of color. This could make already-strained relationships between police and youth of color worse and increase feelings of fear and distrust toward the police. 

What do you think? Are teen curfews more harmful than helpful for young people?