Curfew restrictions are local laws aimed at keeping young teenagers safe and out of trouble. Most U.S. cities with populations of more than 30,000 have curfew laws on the books. Many of those cities enacted or revised their curfew laws in the early 1990s, when President Bill Clinton, among others, was a proponent of curfews. Curfews were widely promoted as a way to decrease vandalism, burglary, and other juvenile crime and to protect teenagers from being preyed upon by criminals (including gang members) themselves.
Curfews generally apply to minors—that is, persons under the age of 18. (In some cities, however, they apply only to children under 16 or 17.) But because it’s often difficult to tell, just by looking, whether someone is 17, 18, or 20, curfews make it more likely that young people just above the curfew age will be stopped and searched by police. The ACLU has raised this as a concern about curfew ordinances.
Typical Curfew Ordinances
Many ordinances forbid anyone under 18 to be in a public place after curfew. Typical curfews begin at 9 p.m. to midnight on weekdays and 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends. Some cities also have daytime curfews, during school hours, to help combat truancy.
Some cities have different rules for children of different ages. For example, an ordinance might require children under 16 to be home by 10 p.m. but allow 16- and 17-year-olds to be out until 11:30.
There are always exceptions; for example, children with a parent or guardian aren’t in violation of a curfew law. Teenagers on their way directly home from work are usually exempted as well, as are children who are with a school, government, or religious group.
Some curfew ordinances make it a violation for a parent to knowingly allow a child to be out after curfew—or supervise the child so poorly that the child is out without the parent’s knowledge. Business owners who allow teens to stay on their premises may also be cited, under the terms of some ordinances.
Enforcement and Penalties
Recognizing that police often can’t tell whether or a young person out late at night is violating a curfew ordinance, typical ordinances require officers to question someone they suspect of violating a curfew law before taking any action. The police officer must ask the person’s age, request ID, and ask what the minor is doing, to establish whether the child has a legitimate reason (such as running an errand for a parent or coming home from work) to be out.
If police do determine that teens are violating the local curfew, they usually either warn the teenagers and send them home, drive them home, or issue a citation and call the parents to come pick up the child.
Penalties for curfew violations also vary from city to city. Typical penalties include:
- Attending preventative or alternative diversion programs
- Community service (five or ten hours for a first offense)
- Fines for the juvenile offender from $50 to $500
- Fines for the parents from $50 to $1,000
Juvenile court judges tend to be lenient for first offenses. For repeated offenses, some ordinances allow judges to send parents to jail.
- If you need help with a juvenile criminal charge, Submit Your Case for a Free Review from a local Juvenile Criminal Defense Lawyer.
