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Is the curfew fair?

On Friday night, law enforcement officials in Orange County conducted a curfew sweep, rounding up 67 teenagers who were out after 10 p.m., putting them on a jail bus until their parents arrived and showing them photos of corpses of young men who were killed after curfew. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told officers before the sweep: “Clearly, they’re not doing anything good if they’re out there after 10 o’clock.” The curfew sweep got us thinking about the curfew. In Los Angeles the curfew bans minors from being in public from 10 p.m. to sunrise. L.A. Youth asked its staff writers if they thought the curfew was fair.

No, it’s not fair

“Not all teens are bad. The District Attorney obviously didn’t go out when he was a teen. It’s stupid for the city to crack down on teens when the majority aren’t bad.”
Luisa Mendoza, 16, Lynwood HS

“I don’t think the city curfew is fair because parents do have curfews for their children. I don’t think teens are going to pay attention to a city curfew. They’ll listen to their parents. It’s none of the city’s business to tell the kids what time they should be home by, it’s their parents.”
Caitlin Bryan, 17, Valley Alternative Magnet School (Van Nuys)

“I think it’s unfair and pointless. The majority of crime is by adults, not teenagers. Forcing teens to go home at a certain time doesn’t solve anything.”
Elliot Kwon, 17, Palos Verdes Peninsula HS

“No. You feel real limited about what you can do. You’ll always have to think, I have to go. A citywide curfew gets in the way.”
Brett Hicks, 18, Loyola HS

“I think it’s unfair because not all teens are the same. They shouldn’t enforce a curfew on all teens. Take out the rowdy teens but not the ones who aren’t doing anything wrong.”
Stanton Ellison, 17, West L.A. College

 “I don’t think it’s fair because a curfew seems like something a parent should tell a child, not the law telling people.”
Carla Love, 16, Ouchi HS

“Ten is definitely way too early. It should be a lot later. During the week, 11 p.m. and on the weekend, 1 a.m.”
John Lisowski, 17, New Roads School (Santa Monica)

“It seems pretty ridiculous. It should be something parents establish with their kids. Just because we’re out after 10 p.m. it doesn’t mean we’re going to be doing drugs, shooting people or involved in gang activity.”
Chelsea McNay, 16, Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies

I’m not sure

“I’m not sure because some parents don’t care about the well-being of their kids. So if you leave it just up to the parents, it’s a risk.”
Emily Navarro, 18, Environmental Charter HS (Lawndale)

“I don’t agree with it because you’re putting teens in one group but everyone is an individual. But it may be necessary because not all parents are going to be there and they might not have someone to enforce rules.”
Mark Walther, Bishop Alemany HS (Mission Hills)

“I don’t know because I’ve never been under a curfew. I’ve never been out late.”
Sydney Chou, Sonora HS

Yes it’s fair

“I think it’s fair because the kids in my neighborhood are out playing tag at night and it’s loud. Last year our house was robbed by kids. They stole my brother’s stuff, like his Game Boy and PlayStation.”
Jessica Kwon, Bravo HS