As a government, we have to be circumspect about laws that curtail freedom. If we want to cut crime we need to deal more with the problems associated with crime, not people being out of their homes. Hundreds of new state laws have been passed since two teenagers shot dead 13 people and then committed suicide at Columbine high school in Littleton, Denver, four months ago. Indiana teenagers must now have a note from their parents for any procedure more major than ear-piercing, and those in Tennessee must take a parent along with them. But curfews are also becoming more common, and there are many proposals for drugs testing in schools.
Curfews are just plain old stupid.
They make kids criminals and that makes them feel isolated and criminalised. That's how the Columbine school shooters felt. But a recent survey of 10 cities showed that its residents were less satisfied with their quality of life and their police force than any other. A study of a two-year curfew in a suburb housing commuters 20 miles outside Washington showed no effect on juvenile crime. Support for the curfew could not be better, even though parents don't expect much.