That makes Gardner feel safer. And that is the essence of why curfews are sweeping the country, according to James Fox, dean of the college of criminal justice at Boston's Northeastern University. But nearly three years after Lexington's curfew law was enacted, its effect on juvenile crime appears negligible. The number of arrests of juveniles accused of violent crimes has decreased slightly, but juvenile arrests for burglaries and auto thefts have increased, according to a Herald-Leader analysis.
More violations occur on the south side, where more people live, than on the north side.
Lexington police Chief Larry Walsh said most violations occur near shopping centers and city parks. Law enforcement and elected officials like curfews, which are politically popular. Walsh says that, in a growing city, the negligible dip in juvenile crime is still a success. A U.S. Conference of Mayors survey released this month said 50 percent of cities saw crime reductions after enacting curfews. But Fox said that, in most cases, a curfew's effect on crime is so small that he doesn't think it is worth the resources expended on it.