There is a need to develop good practices for negotiating young people's use of public spaces with special reference to the particular needs of children from Indigenous and non-English speaking backgrounds. In a number of jurisdictions police can remove children from public places if they are considered ' at risk of offending' even though they are not suspected of illegal activity. This seriously compromises some fundamental rights for children, notably their freedom of peaceful assembly and their freedom of association. The inquiry opposed arbitrary restrictions on the movement and assembly of young people who have not committed an offence. Youth curfews have recently been proposed in a number of jurisdictions.
Curfews compromise fundamental rights of the child and are discriminatory on the basis of age.
Youth curfews should be repealed and national standards for juvenile justice should provide that no jurisdiction should introduce laws, such as curfews, to restrict the movement of young people not suspected of any crime. Summons and arrest Police in many jurisdictions continue to rely heavily on arrest when dealing with young suspects. Despite the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommendation that arrest be used only as a last resort for Indigenous young people, the arrest rate for Indigenous children continues to be higher than for non-Indigenous children. Arrest can be a traumatic and disturbing experience for a child and may be unnecessarily stigmatising. In some cases arrest may perpetuate a cycle of crime.