Should there be a curfew for people under 18 years to reduce crime? [ENDS 28/02/10]

[Nixt]

Should there be a curfew for people under 18 years to reduce crime?

Ends 28 / 02 / 10

Crime amongst young people is becoming more and more media publicised. It is reported that children as young as 11 and 12 are out on the streets drinking and causing trouble. The question is, would introducing a curfew for for children / young adults under the age of 18 be an effective way of cutting crime?

I apologise for the lack of debates, I've had a busy couple of weeks - but we'll get back into the swing of things!

[-:Undertaker:-]

No we do not live in a police state and it is wrong to punish the majority, the reason why crime is out of control is because if one simple reason; they get away with it. If you bang those up who commit crime for real and proper sentences then perhaps we'd get somewhere but sadly this government has done the opposite and catered to the criminal, rather than the law-abiding citzen.

I am sick of it and the whole country is sick of it, but the government continues trampling on.

[Blinger1]

no, thats just stupid. Let kids have their fun. Just get heftier penalties and that'll sort the idiots out.

[Stryderman]

Yes and no.

It wouldnt make a difference in gloucester hardly anyone would stick to it and if it was enforced alot of people would just go to the park which you are easily able to run in multiple directions away from the road.

And also no because people would keep asking me to go home cos i look underage altho im not

[Tash.]

Two sides to this I guess. Yes on one hand because it might just make the streets a less intimidating place to be on a night. Although this does also punish those below 18 who aren't any danger to the general public and it would be too hard to make exceptions for some. On the other hand, yes youths under the age of 18 are a problem but I would say that there are those over 18 who are just as bad and dangerous, if not more so. This would not keep them off the streets. A lot of this crime is down to drugs, alcohol and gangs who just have nothing better to do than fight each other. Locking them up at home at night isn't going to help these underlying problems.

Overall, i'd say no. You can't punish the majority just because a relative minority are hell bent on causing trouble.

No we do not live in a police state and it is wrong to punish the majority, the reason why crime is out of control is because if one simple reason; they get away with it. If you bang those up who commit crime for real and proper sentences then perhaps we'd get somewhere but sadly this government has done the opposite and catered to the criminal, rather than the law-abiding citzen.

I am sick of it and the whole country is sick of it, but the government continues trampling on.

Oh gosh, not again. If you are seriously saying that we put every single youth or person who commits a crime into prison then you're more naive than I thought. Where exactly do you propose we put them? Prisons are overcrowded as it is, the government has had to make other arrangements for the people who have committed crimes that are considered to be lesser (such as ASBO's etc). Clearly they don't work but at least they tried. I know what you're response to this will be, but i'll wait anyway before I counter it.

[luce]

No. Why should the majority get punished. If people are getting away with it surely it should be the parents and authorities that are punished for not doing their jobs properly. I don't care what people say it is the parents fault for how their children turn out. I lived in a rough area for a short period of time in Dudley and i was not allowed to get involved with that, so i didn't. If the parents don't put their foot down then it's their fault for what their children do until they're 18.

hence why i believe U18s shouldn't be prosecuted - their carers and guardians should. That would make everyone think twice about whether Eastenders is really more important then raising and spending time with their kids.

@Tash ~ What i think you'll find is that if you put every single person in prison who commits a crime for a length of time over a period of about 2-3 years when people realize that they are going to be put in prison instead of "ASBO" or some other ****** up government scheme they will stop doing it all together making the prison less crowded solving two problems. Prison overcrowding and Crime. So he's no naive - just extremely intelligent and switched on to how people work.

@Hex ~ You say it wouldn't work? Well enforce it in a way that it would work. Anyone caught out when they shouldn't be will be given 400 hours of community service OR the same amount of time in prison straight. That would soon sort them out would it not? It's not saying basically "We are going to say you can't go out - but don't worry if you do we don't mind" it's a "you will not go out or you will be punished".

[Tash.]

@Tash ~ What i think you'll find is that if you put every single person in prison who commits a crime for a length of time over a period of about 2-3 years when people realize that they are going to be put in prison instead of "ASBO" or some other ****** up government scheme they will stop doing it all together making the prison less crowded solving two problems. Prison overcrowding and Crime. So he's no naive - just extremely intelligent and switched on to how people work.

The prisons are already overcrowded though, there is no space to put every teenager who commits a crime in prison.. Even less so is there space to put in prison every parent of a kid who commits a crime. Not only that but would you propose putting both parents in prison or just the 1? Because really that opens up a whole other can of worms about where you put the children while their parents are in jail. Further to this, how is it fair on the parents if they have 1 child who is causing untold problems when their other children are well behaved and do not get into trouble with the law? Because believe me that happens.

[AgnesIO]

No because more crimes are done by over 18's..

Why don't we ban all over 18's from pubs and streets after 9?

It just doesn't work.

[Technologic]

How about we stop letting the idiots under 18 who commit crime getting off scott free. Arrest them, treat them like criminals, lock them up and that'll solve your problem.

[Black_Apalachi]

The answer is yes, it probably would cut crime if it was enforced adequately. I also don't think it would really be penalising a majority because I don't really know of any reasons for people under 18 to be out on the streets at night other than to just hang round - and any groups you see doing this are more often than not causing a nuisance in some way or another anyway.

However my question is; how do you even enforce a curfew? I'm guessing it involves a lot more police patrols but I thought there was a general displeasure about the fact that you hardly ever see bobbies on the beat any more, compared to thirty or forty years ago when there would be one on every street? My point is that it will cost the government even more money to ensure there are enough patrols. As Dan said, it would be a lot easier to just enforce harsher penalties to avoid the crime in the first place.

Let's face it, all the police would do if they caught anyone is drive them home. So as there is no real risk, they're not gonna care and will probably ignore the whole curfew anyway.