.CT M5A1: LASA 2: Final Argument Paper
gouchogurl2007
M3_A2_AndersonN_LASA.pptxShould people under 18 be subjected to legal curfews or restricted driving privileges? Nicole Anderson Argosy University
Introduction
Teenage curfews are a common phenomenon in the United States with the objective of keeping them indoors and deter them from roaming the streets especially at night. When there is enacting of legal state curfew, it is illegal for any teenager under 18 years to be outside.
The primary aim of this legal curfews is to reduce the criminal activities that are done during the night. Youth are vulnerable to be lured into involving themselves in cults or gangs. Policy makers have discovered that curfews for the teenagers could reduce or deter juvenile delinquency.
In the United States, most of the states have legal laws that allow the locals to enact a curfew. They are essential in maintaining law and order. With the curfew, parents are able to restrict the movement of the teenagers and their role is made easier when the law requires the children to be at home at a specific time.
Introduction Cont.:
When the youth violate the curfew laws, then it causes the lawbreaker to be charged with a misdemeanor or be fined. Research carried out indicates that one of the causes of deaths among the youth between 19-25 years of age in the United States is vehicle crashes.
Thus it is essential that one should consider when giving their teen liberty to drive during night hours. There is need to enact laws that reduce the juveniles crimes and accidents that result in some actions which can be easily be prevented.
In this presentation, we will explore on whether the people under 18 years of age be subjected to legal curfews or restriction of the driving privileges.
Merits of imposing legal curfews among the youth under 18 years.
It prevents the criminal activities that are done by the juvenile.
It protects the youth from victimization
It reduces the opportunities for the youth to involve themselves in criminal activities
It is a system of maintaining law and order.
An argument in support of enacting curfew on the teenagers categorizes the law into two; It prevents the criminal activities that are done by the juvenile. It protects the youth from victimization.
The curfew for the juvenile is a method of protecting criminal activities of non-delinquent teenagers. Moreover, it inhibits the platforms for the teens to engage in any crime.in accordance to Kinnear (2009) curfew reduced the incidence of crime since the juvenile perpetrator uses the teenagers as victims to their crime.
Curfew helps in restoration and maintenance of order in the neighborhoods. The police officers are equipped with tools to assist them in keeping the teens off the streets. Parents have an obligation of controlling the activities of the children during the curfew hours.
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Merits Cont.:
The teenagers under 18 years are have not matured enough to take responsibility for their actions and thus should not be given the privilege of driving especially during night hours.
It is true that accidents are caused by both the youth and the elders in the society but when the youth are restricted from driving at night, then the accidents and the death which could be caused by the youths are minimized
Critics have claimed that the world needs dynamic and responsible youth thus the minimum age of acquiring a license should be reduced. They claim that age does not make an individual more responsible but trust and the responsibilities that the person has.
Besides, restricting the teenagers from the privilege of driving is cumbersome to the parents with the unnecessary trips of taking the youth around when it is important.
Evidence to support the argument presented
A study done by Ruefle and Reynolds on the impacts of curfew law on the juvenile indicated that the laws played a significant role in reducing the crimes committed by the teenagers. Unfortunately, the curfews are not effective in minimizing the criminal behavior among the teenagers who are above the restricted age. This meant that curfew worked efficiently for the youth who are under the age of 18 years (Gerdes, 2008).
Another study done by Kenneth Adams in finding out the effectiveness of the curfew in reducing crime found that the impacts were statistically insignificant. He composed the results of measuring the difference in outcome before the curfew was adopted and after imposing the curfew. In his research, he concluded that it is not distinctively clear whether curfew enhances public safety(Siegel & Welsh, 2009).
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Counter Argument
The teenagers should not be restricted the driving privileges since they have to attend school, part-time jobs or other extracurricular activities
When the teenagers are restricted, they become rebellious
Giving the children the liberty to operate freely, they will become mature and responsible in future
When the youth are imposed with so many restrictions, they will become rebellious in the society. The teenagers should be educated on the importance of being self-disciplined and be trusted with the tasks given. This will make them act responsibly without the imposition of a curfew.
It is not right to restrict the responsible youth from driving just because another teenager has violated the rules or was irresponsible in their actions. This means that one reckless teenager can determine the fate of million other youths. Thus teenagers should be allowed to drive due to classes or working in different firms.
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Evidence supporting the counter argument
In most cases, the criminal activities have been reported to occur before the impositions of the curfew. This means that irrespective of the age, the offenders have the likelihood of committing crimes. The juvenile criminal justice system believes that crime among the teenager is out of free choice and thus they should face the law. In accordance with the public health, the criminal aspect among the youths can be eradicated by investing resources on the issue. Violence and criminal activities are not inevitable, but imposing curfew on the minor is not the best option (Karen 2007)
The law enforcement agencies believe that imposition of a curfew is the best alternative as it will eradicate the criminal activities done by the teenagers. As the results depict, more than 50,000 youths are arrested annually which lead to overcrowding in juveniles incarceration and courts. In this case, the government will have to spend the more funds from the taxpayer's pocket in funding the institutions (Larry, 2007).
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Conclusion
Legal curfew on the children below 18 years can be a solution to reducing criminal activities, violence, victimization and joining cults.
It is a useful tool in reducing the immortality that teenager involved themselves into during the night hours besides curfew enhances the relationship among the family members as they would probably spend their time during the night with their peers.
Thus, curfew legislation should be enacted in all the states.
The youth people should be responsible for undertaking greater responsibilities and thus adhering to the regulations; being moral can build an orderly society.
References
Gerdes, L. I. (2008). Teen driving. Detroit: Greenhaven Press
Larry J. Siegel. (2007). Juvenile Delinquency: The Core, 5th edition. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Karen M. Hess. (2007). Juvenile Justice 6th edition. Our Nation’s Youth. New York: Rosen pub.
Kinnear, K. L. (2009). Gangs: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. (2009). Juvenile delinquency: Theory, practice, and law. Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
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