Philadelphia Mandatory Curfew - Research Paper Example

Philadelphia Mandatory Curfew Introduction The city of Philadelphia is in duress from the city not enforcing it own curfew hours. Many minors are running the streets of Philadelphia at night when there is no reason for them to be out. Philadelphia has a curfew ordinance in place but they are not following up on this ordinance and enforcing it. The ordinance states that “minors [between] 13 to 17 on weekday they must be inside between the hours of 10:30pm and 6:00amand 12:00am and 6:00am on weekends. Minor up to the age of 12 must be inside between the hours of 9:00pm and 6:00am on weekdays and 10:00pm and 6:00am on weekends.”(Curfew law summary) This ordinance must be enforced if Philadelphian’s want to control half of its crime throughout the city. Many offices of the city of Philadelphia sit by and watch underage children run the streets and do nothing about it. It is just as much the officer’s fault as it is the parents of the underage children that are out in the city. Just think about it­ is there really a reason these children to be out and about in the streets of Philadelphia until the wee hours of the morning? The only reason they could be out that late is to get into mischief. There are no schools that are open at night. They cannot go to bars or clubs because they are so young. For this reason there should be strict guidelines and heftier fines placed upon the parents for letting this happen. There should also be penalties toward the officers that sit by and watch this happen if we ever plan on cleaning up our streets and cutting down on our violence. Discussions There are many pros and cons on the effectiveness of the implementation of curfew ordinance. There are arguments that this has been good while there are those who comment that this piece of legislation is useless. Let us discuss just how important is this legislation to Philadelphia. a. The curfew ordinance law. The curfew ordinance is already in place in Philadelphia but the government has put more teeth into the curfew ordinance law, when Mayor John F. Street expanded the curfew hours to cover minors below 13 years of age and increased the fines for minors and business operators from $150 to $250, and for parents from $50 to $150. (phila.gov) The former ordinance which is replaced by the new bill, covers only minors of 13 to 17 years and a much lesser fines.(Robinson, 2007) b. Mitigating circumstances Statistical information. Statistics of juvenile delinquents in the United States is staggering as in 1999, V/lex reports there are 1,673,000 delinquency cases processed in the juvenile courts in the United States and were charged with criminal law violations. (2004) The Statistical briefing book of the OJJDP , provides that sexual assaults of juveniles peak at 8:000 a.m. till noon and at 3:p.m. while assaults to older, 18 years old and above happens at late night time hours. Report further said that assault on minors ages 12 to 17 went down but those of ages 15 to 17 were up. Chart 1 below show number of violent victimization from the period 1960 to 2005. Char1. Violent Victimization by age group, 1960-2005 Source: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book Chart 2 below shows juvenile arrest in 2008 in US estimated at 2.11 million youth with ages younger than age 18. Chart shows a decline of 3 percent over 2007. (OJJDP) Data did not show whether the decline is attributed to curfew hour’s ordinances. Chart 2. Juvenile Arrests in 2008 Source: OJJDP Statistical briefing book Survey City mayors in the United States favored curfew ordinances as shown in a survey done in 1997. The effectiveness of juvenile curfew has been discussed in a survey wherein mayors of 347 cities were asked to respond.(Cochran, J.T. 1997) Mayors were asked on the impact of daytime and nighttime curfews; whether curfew enforcement is a good use of police officers’ time; whether curfews make streets safer at night; increase or decrease crime rates since curfews have been in effect; whether the costs associated with curfew law enforcement is justified and problems encountered in its implementation, and constitutional changes needed for the law. Out of 347 cities surveyed, 276 reported having curfew laws, while 71 has none. Philadelphia is found to be among those cities with curfew both at daytime and nighttime. Respondents of survey have both positive and negative responses to the questions on effectiveness of curfew ordinance. For instance, 247 mayors believed that curfew is a good way of using police officers time and that it is an effective measure of controlling youth crimes. Respondents felt that curfew is one way of involving parents to keep minors from committing future crimes, and to keep their children safe from being victimized. Curfews arm the police with authority to stop and question suspicious characters. 236 city mayor respondents said that curfew laws make the street safer for residents at night; there is lesser traffic; it is easier to find runaways because of lesser people on street, and the common youth crimes of vandalism and graffiti is reduced. Other comments came from 222 of the cities who said that “curfew help to curb gang violence” (Cochran, J.T.) It helps in such a way police can be able to monitor movements of youth thereby lessening their activities during curfew hours. Curfew ordinance, respondents said, help police officers to put a stop to young peoples’ activities before they become more violent. By virtue of the law, guns and drugs can be seized by the police from the youth, thus lessening their ability to fight. Interview I have conducted an interview with a mother, working as a nurse in Philadelphia. The respondent has 2 kids; one is 10 and the other is 15 years old. (The question and answer is attached as annex.) The respondent, Roza Balilaj has no knowledge of the existing curfew law in Philadelphia; nonetheless, she exercises the curfew time to her children, telling them to be home by 8:00 p.m. On question of her perception on the curfew law, Roza wanted authorities to be stricter in implementation as she noted kids are still out at night, and authorities seem not to mind. Roza thinks the present law is just in order, but what is needed is proper implementation. In her own observation, she noted police patrol around, raids movie houses in search for minors out there, but often times in their neighborhood, minors follow the law. She believes the age limits covered by the law is just right, and that none of her kids ever got apprehended. She also thinks that parents’ supervision is important in minor’s observance of the law. Incidences of crimes The importance of the curfew law has been more pronounced in the story of Gansberg, M. (1964) published in the New York Times on March 17, 1964 wherein a woman was mercilessly stabbed to death, and 37 witnesses did not even bother to call a police. My contention in this case is that if there was a police patrol rounding up the area during that unholy hour, the crime could have been prevented. This also provided more reasons for parents to exercise their parental guidance to keep their children off the streets on midnight because no one out there has the courage to help or even call the police. In news carried by Associated Press (2010) Philadelphia had seen killing rate of more than 1 per day which is more than those of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Again, police said that one of the reasons for continued killings is the “culture of intimidation” of witnesses that let criminals loose on the streets. (Associated Press}People just do not like to get involved due to fear of their own safety c. Arguments on retention and/or abolishment of the law Retention of the curfew law. City authorities felt that the establishment of a South Philadelphia Distribution Center helped in the reduction of juvenile shootings as it dropped by 60% in the two areas covered by the center. (phila.gov) Report also said that from 2006, “there were 772 curfew violators 296 were brought to the center and the 476 youth were directly taken home. “ (phila.gov) Because of the benefits to the youth, the city government has plans to increase the number of centers to 11 during the year. Judge Michael Proppel of the Juvenile Division of the Municipal Court of Philadelphia said that he is worried about gang activity that if left unchecked can become serious problems of juvenile delinquency. The presence of dangerous gang activities in the city should immediately be resolved by identifying what needs to be corrected in the system of government and not solely dependent on curfew. The Judge points to the whole system of government to see what has to be done by way of prevention “in a manner that will preserve the rights of the juvenile delinquents and their parents”. (Proppel, M. n.d.) Get rid of the curfew law Professor Adams of the University of Central Florida (2007) is not in favor of the retention of the law and echoes his comments for its abolishment. Prof. Adams professed that this legislation has not been effective and has based his allegations on scientific research. First, he said that scientific evidences does not support claim of substantial reduction in juvenile crime and victimization. Next, Prof. Adams believes that curfew ordinances is not an effective way to use police resources as he claims it to be discriminatory and becomes counterproductive because of the rise of sanctions. The curfew ordinance in Charleston (W.V.) was questioned in court by a lawyer saying that the curfew ordinance is not clear, and does not deter crimes. The lawyer further argued that the ordinance deprives the parents on their rights to raise children. He claimed that the juvenile crime rate in the city is low that “there isn’t even a trend.”. (High Beam Research) He claims that if ever someone is caught in misconduct, an arrest will be done somehow, and treatment of law is the same, he insinuated. However, the Judge in this case did not agree on the claim of trend for juvenile crimes and engaged him to take him to a ride in the city to prove the point. (High Beam Research. 2000) . In the survey of Mayors, not all of the respondents agreed on effectiveness of curfew laws as 46 of the cities claimed that curfews had no impact on gang-related activities. They said that hardcore gang members are not afraid of curfews mainly because of little or no punishment at all, and most gang activities take place before curfew hours Thirty-three cities said that curfew laws do not have an effect on street safety, and that it is the youth over 17 who get involve in serious crimes. The respondents also felt that the curfew laws are not always enforced in the cities due to lack of funds. (Cochran, J. T) On the average, 56 percent of respondents said that curfew laws have been with them for 10 years or less, and that the effect is a decrease in juvenile crime. Eleven percent respondents said juvenile crimes stayed the same, and 10 percent reported an increase.( Cochran, J. T) Limitations of the study Scope of the study is limited as there is scarcity of obtaining a more recent data from the Philadelphia Police record. Conclusion Based on data gathered and presented, curfew hours should remain implemented in Philadelphia. The effect of curfew laws caused the decline of victimized juveniles from 1995 to 2004 of minors affected 12 to 17. In Philadelphia, the city government has expanded its curfew laws to include minors below 13, expanded number of coverage of hours and have raised penalties. There seems to be no resistance in the district as there are plans to set up more distribution centers in the area. A sample interview from a parent with two minor children supports the curfew law and suggests a stricter implementation to become effective. There was no adverse reaction to the increase of fines and penalty. In fact, in one of respondents reply, gang members find penalty too soft. Secondary data gathered from result of survey done to 347 cities showed a large percentage support the curfew laws. The respondents cited decline in juvenile crimes, traffic safety, and increased parents’ involvement. Parents’ involvement in keeping their children stay at home during curfew hours play a big role because of motivations created in behavior culture. In conclusion, I believe that the Philadelphia law should stay in place, because as the Mayor of City said, “Young people do not belong on the street at 11 and 12 o'clock at night,” and continued to say “No good things can happen to young people at that hour” (phila.gov) It is a fearsome thought to recall that nobody is brave enough to come out as witness to crimes committed daily in Philadelphia and to a helpless woman who was murdered some years ago. If the people retain the culture of intimidation, there is enough reason that minors must have some protection from the law. Curfew laws are meant to protect minors and deter them from being a victim of crimes committed at nighttime; it is created to help and not to punish. In this context, it is fair to conclude that the advantages and benefits of the curfew ordinance to minor children outweigh the negative reactions of those who are against the law. Perhaps, it is good to look at the perspective of Judge Proppel to review the whole government system to see what is wrong and what can be done and not to rely on curfew ordinance alone for decline of juvenile delinquency. A deeper analysis on social issues is needed to identify the problems lingering the youth problems. After analysis and pinpointing the correct solutions, can we infer if curfew ordinance should remain or not in Philadelphia. ANNEX 1 INTERVIEW WITH ROZA BALILAJ A MOTHER a. Q: Can you tell me your name and address and occupation? b. A: My name is Roza Balilaj. I live in Northeast Philadelphia at 2752 fuller st. I work for Temple Hospital as a registered nurse. c. Q: How many kids do you have? d. A: I have 2 girls one is 10 years old and the other is 15. e. Q: Do you know what the curfew is in Philadelphia for kids today? f. A: No I don’t. g. Q: Do your kids have a curfew when they have to be home by on week days and weekends? h. A: Yes of course they do. Because of their age difference the 15 year old gets to stay out until 10 pm on weekends and the 10 year old has to be in by 8:30pm. Not that we don’t make an exception to the rules we do just like every other parent but most of the time we are very strict on our girls. During a school night they both have to be in by 8pm. i. Q: What do you think of the City’s curfew for kids under 16 years old? j. A: I wish it was stricter I see kids out at any time of day and most authorities don’t do anything about it. k. Q: Do you think authorities should reinforce the law? l. A: Yes absolutely a law is put in place for a reason and there shouldn’t be an exception when it comes to our kid’s safety. m. Q: What do you suppose the authority do? n. A: If they see a kid who is in that age range pick them up and have the parent get them from jail that way the parent won’t let the child out that late because they don’t want to pick them up from the police station every night o. Q: Has any of your children ever gotten picked up by the cops because they ware braking curfew? p. A: No it hasn’t happen to my children. q. Q: Do you know anyone who it has happen to? r. A : The cops drive by at the movie theater when it’s a midnight show and they have never gotten anyone arrested. s. Q: Do you think many parents will be upset if their child is arrested for this reason? t. A: I think if a parent lets a child out at any hour then most likely they don’t care much about what the child does. u. Q: Do you think the current policy is too strong or should it be stronger? v. A: I just think the policy is just fine but the authorities need to reinforce it immodestly. w. Q: Should the parents get in trouble if their minor is out of curfew? x. A: Yes because that way the parent is part of the solution not the problem. y. Q: Should the age be changed for the current curfew? z. A: No I think what it is if just prefect. Works cited Balilaz, R. A personal interview done by author to know perception on curfew law. March 2010. Cochran, J. T. Status report on Youth Curfews in America’s Cities. 1997. A 347 Cities Survey The United States Conference of Mayors 16 March 2010 http://usmayors.org/publications/curfew.htm Gansberg, M. "37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police" 1964.The New York Times. 17 March 2010 http://www.wccusd.k12.ca.us/stc/ethical/37text.htmhttp://www.wccusd.k12.ca.us/stc/ethical/37text.htm High Beam Research. Court hears teen curfew arguments. Article from Law and Order. June 1, 2000. High Beam Research.16 March 2010 http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-56490665.html Kenneth Adams, “Abolish Juvenile Curfews”. University of Central Florida. Criminology and Public Policy. 2007. Wiley Inter Science. 16 March 2010 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117993485/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Phila.gov. Mayor Street Signs Bill Expanding Curfew Hours News @ phila.gov. 2007. 16 March 2010 Ojjdp. Juveniles as victims. Statistical Briefing Book US Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 16 March 2010 Read More