Most counties have curfews that prevent children 17 or younger from walking unsupervised on public property between the hours of 10:00pm and daylight of the following day. While I most certainly agree that there should be such curfews, there are points about these curfews that the state should consider. They should think about why the curfews were being implemented in the first place, they should consider whether or not they are working, and they should consider what else they could do to prevent the teen crime rate from skyrocketing. Teenage crimes are definitely a problem, but being out late at night is not the biggest issue.

First of all, the state should consider why these curfews were established in the firstplace. According to the law Sec.18.30.005 Minors under eighteen; exception, it states that: Children 17 and younger may not be loitering on public property between the hours of 10:00pm and daylight of the next day unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian or accompanied by someone appointed by the minors parent or guardian to be with the child during these hours. This law clearly states the implementation of the teen curfews. Police and other officials say that the majority of teen crimes occur at night, and that by ordering a curfew, the teen crime rate in America will drop. It is true that a lot of teens are on the street at night, particularly on the weekends. However are these curfews working or not?

Second, it could be said that the officials were not right in their hypothesis. According to a recent study, over 55% of teen crimes occurred during non-curfew hours. In another study, it was found that the majority either doesn’t know about these curfews, or simply refuse to follow them. These statistics show that the teens don’t have any regard for the curfews. Why?  Perhaps it is because they are young and want to be given the freedom of adults. They also don’t want any responsibility, which is one of the reasons there are so many teen dropouts. In addition to looking at teen crime rates, what are the things which lead to it: being teased, bring bullied, coming from a broken family, dropping out of school. All of these things lead to crime. Teens need to be advised, not only restricted.

Lastly, I believe that officials should consider creating programs for troubled teens. We have all seen the movies where young adults end up in trouble just because they follow their friends and make poor choices. If the government wants to see changes in teen crime rates, then don’t just place curfews on the teens; advise them, teach them. They should offer more programs that have sport opportunities and opportunities in various careers. When teens have nothing to do, obviously they are going to choose what they believe is “fun.” Overall, if the state wants to see teens improve their behavior, then place yourself in the mind of a troubled or disturbed teen. You will see through their eyes, and realize that they don’t always consider these behaviors to be crimes.

To sum up, teenage curfews are a step in the right direction. But it should be remembered that while teenage crimes are definitely a problem, being out late at night is not the biggest issue. If the state senators and other lawmakers rethink the curfews and consider whether or not they are effective and why or why not, the teens in this country would not have such a bad reputation.