Some countries are considering imposing curfews in which teenagers will not be allowed outdoors at night unless they are accompanied by an adult. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this policy?
Why Curfew
- for anti-social elements
- - Teenagers tend to be on the wrong side of the law due to peer pressure and overzealousness.
- Encroachment of the rights of people
- Punishment for all due to a few
The recent spurt in the criminal activities involving, or
targeting adolescents during late evenings has forced governments across many
countries to come up with plans to restrict unaccompanied by adults, outdoor
movements of these youngsters after sunset. This proposal has fetched both
accolades and brickbats.
To start with, the proposed scheme seems to be quite practical, as per certain social theorists. It is professed that the teen-aged juveniles are the most vulnerable group and an easy target for anti-social elements like robbers and muggers who can harm these youngsters. And, since most of such incidents usually take place after darkness sets in, it is extremely viable to not let young ones go out without an adult guardian.
Moreover, it is undeniable that today teenagers often, due to their overzealousness and peer pressure, tend to be on the wrong side of the law such as indulging in over-speeding, dangerous driving, drug and alcohol abuse, and frightening people, to name a few, and all such activities are undertaken during the darker hours when police patrol is minimal. Thus, to curb such unlawful instances, imposition of restrictions on outdoor endeavors of those in their adolescence, alone is quite justified.
However, the other school of thought vehemently resists such a move. As per them, this would be an encroachment of the rights of people and in fact, such a law is bound to punish the majority of lawful teenagers for the fault of a minority of unruly children. Additionally, impeding the movement of teenagers to prevent criminals from assaulting the former will only encourage the latter more.
Overall, I partially subscribe to this notion and feel that the night curfew on teenagers should only be imposed in the areas that are facing a hike in unlawful acts involving teenagers in some way.
