NCJ Number
169961
Journal
Catalyst Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1998) Pages: 1-2
Editor(s)
C Asato
Date Published
1998
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Youth curfew programs in cities across America are reducing juvenile crime and victimization, as well as making city residents feel safer in their own communities, according to "A Status Report on Youth Curfews in America's Cities," a recently released survey report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Abstract
The most successful programs not only enforce curfews and punish those who violate curfews but provide intervention and prevention components for youth and, in some cases, their parents. The successful curfew program provides youth alternatives to being on the streets and finds out why they are on the streets, according to the Youth Initiatives Manager for San Antonio, Tex. San Antonio, which has had a nighttime curfew in place since 1991 and a daytime curfew since 1994, provides intervention and prevention, not just punishment for violators. The city offers social services, including counseling to youth who violate curfews, as well as their families. Mandatory follow-up by a social service agency occurs if a youth violates the curfew twice. The city also spends approximately $21 million a year on a variety of youth programs, including after-school arts and recreation programs, employment training, literacy classes, community service opportunities, social services, and counseling. Officials report that with curfews in effect, overall juvenile crime has decreased. Early numbers showed a 29-percent decline in nighttime juvenile arrests and an 85-percent plunge in youth victimization by violent crime. An overwhelming majority of cities with curfews in place found them to be useful. More than half (53 percent) of the 154 survey cities that have had a youth curfew in effect for 10 years or less attributed a decline in juvenile crime to the curfew, and 11 percent said the juvenile crime rate remained the same; 10 percent reported an increase. Advice is offered from San Antonio officials for cities that are considering a curfew.