Curfew a Solution to Juvenile Crime

One fact we can all agree on is that juvenile crime is the fastest-rising element of crime in America. Another is that once on the road to crime it is difficult to take another road.

We also know that, in the last two years, juvenile crime has dropped by more than 30% in Dallas. The Dallas City Council did not hire more police nor spend more money on high-tech equipment. They did stop thousands of people from becoming victims, they did cut the number of victims taken to hospital emergency rooms at hospitals, they did stop the need to build more jails and prisons, they did stop the trauma of crime on thousands of families.

All the Dallas City Council did was institute a curfew for juveniles.

I bet those who don’t want a curfew lock their cars at the mall. Why? If everyone is honest, then locks are not needed. But we take precautions to prevent crimes from happening. The same can be said of a curfew law. It is a precaution against the juveniles who can’t control themselves, are out for “a good time” or need money to pay for drugs.

We can get rid of the curfew when all parents take responsibility for their children. Until then, society will have to do the job of protecting senior citizens from muggings, the unemployed from car theft, the local small-business owner from robbers. A curfew is bad, but the crime from juveniles is worse.

STEPHEN FRANK

Simi Valley