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Recently a pandemic struck the globe; Coronavirus (COVID 19). This disease has been hard to contain as it has been able to spread rapidly, and it has had a catastrophic effect on people. Coronavirus is an infectious disease caused by the recently discovered coronavirus. The majority of people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience moderate to mild respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Also, it has these symptoms; fever, cough, tiredness, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, and headache. Therefore, one should seek medical attention if they experience any. The WHO says older people and those with underlying medical problems like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory disease are more likely to be seriously affected. The best way to curb its transmission is through avoiding touching your face, especially your eyes and nose, staying home when you feel sick, wash your hands with soap and running water or using a hand sanitizer, covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and finally maintaining at least a six foot distance from people that experience flu-like symptoms. It has led to three billion deaths across the world. For instance, in India, coronavirus infections are 22million, and people who have died from it are estimated to be around over two hundred thousand. In the U.S., the virus has affected over 100 million and killed millions of people. Some states such as California have imposed a curfew, running from ten o'clock at night until dusk. This meant that people, especially kids, had to be in their homes before curfew time. In this writing, I support the effects that curfew has had on kids. This result may be based on various curfew rules, especially the emergency and juvenile curfew rules.

In the emergency curfew law, I used the current curfew in California in this writing. Here I will discuss how those laws have affected the kids positively. The current curfew in California is due to COVID-19, and it restricts people, even kids, from the streets for the last year. This dusk to dawn curfew has helped reduce the threat of Human trafficking also (human trafficking is the trade of humans for sexual slavery and forced labor, according to human traffickers). This may include forced marriage or the removal of body organs such as the kidney. Human trafficking can be done within a country or between states generally. It's a crime since it abuses the victim's right of movement through force and due to commercial manipulation. I.L.O. (International Labor Organization) states that one case of human trafficking generates an estimated over one billion dollars in profits as per 2016. In 2013, the L.L.O. estimated that over 10 million people are trapped in modern-day slavery also in their case, they report that most of those involved are children especially women. This makes human trafficking among the crime industry in the globe.) , in the United States, police records showed that from 2016 to 2020, it is estimated that over 20000 children went missing and linked to human trafficking (Wilson et al., 2016). The case files indicated that this kid was mainly stalked and haunted by their predators, mostly at night; their primary target was girls aged 12 to 17. This girl, mainly after being taken, was trafficked either to Mexico or Canada, where they usually are treated as prostitutes, and those who resisted were killed.

Most of these gangs live a luxurious lifestyle called mouthwatering to kids who came up from low-income families. The money usually attracts them. Usually, they operate at night, but gangs from being involved in team-related activities as the streets are generally empty after introducing the curfew (Grossman & Miller, 2015). Also, curfew has reduced the chances of kids being involved in drugs and usage of alcohol. In the U.S., the rate at which kids are involved in drugs has been increasing from 2012 to 2019, according to the D.E.A. Usually, these kids engage in weed, heroin, cocaine, and alcohol mostly. The prolonged usage of these drugs has the following effects; addiction, changes in appetite, slurred speech, loss of coordination, insomnia, paranoia, anxiety, depression, hallucinations, and cardiovascular diseases.

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The curfew, especially for teenagers, can teach lessons about personal responsibility; this has been effective mainly when parents or the community set such curfews to help kids manage time. Kids under such curfew know that they must be home at a specific time; therefore, they must develop solutions that make the outcome possible. So if they fail in upholding this, they are accompanied with consequences that emphasize the idea of being responsible (Adams, 2003). Parents take this chance to talk with their kids about what will be for the family and what actions won't function. By presenting this to them, it enables the kids to choose what decisions to make. Curfew rules have helped teens to work online when they are indoors. When teens are indoors, they tend to be bored; boredom can result in them having negative thoughts and possibly considering the use of narcotics. Therefore, online platforms have presented jobs that teens can get involved in during their free time. Such media include R.E.V., which is mainly associated with transcription. They usually pay well so kids can stay indoors and still make money.

On the other hand, curfew has helped reduce conflict between the youth and police. Previously, teens have been arrested at night because these teens loiter in the streets, and they are deemed suspicious due to the darkness. At times some teens are mistakenly arrested just because they were outside, which causes them to hate the police (Williams et al., 1985). Also, some police officers, especially in the 1990s, usually target teens who were hanging out in groups as criminals—this fostered hatred for the cops. However, when the curfew was implemented, it restricted teens' movement at night, which helped reduce the rivalry between cops and teens.

In conclusion, these writings support curfew laws on teens. As discussed above, curfew has been very helpful at times but also they have had adverse effects on teens, which may include, curfew may present a false sense of security among the teens and their parents. Parents might be thinking that their kids are at home during the curfew time, but when night falls, some kids might sneak out of the house since most crimes are committed at night. Nights present a friendly environment for crime to happen. Also, some teenage curfew rules may encourage resistance among teens. At times the rules set by parents may be so harsh, which may push a teen to a corner which may result in teens being angry as they feel their freedom is being manipulated. Teenage curfew may result in a lack of trust between the teens and their parents. Curfew may have actual legal consequences after they have been violated. If a teen is found outside late, they may be arrested and presented in court in a case of dusk to dawn curfew. At times the court can give harsh rulings like jail time, community service such as cleaning of streets, or imposing a fine bond by the courts. Finally, other methods can be implemented to reduce youth crime from the curfew. These interventions include creating reaction centers such as constructing sports centers where when teens are idle, they can play there engaging their minds in sports such as football. Another method of intervention may be parent involvement of teen's activities either at home or at school. This will help the parent to track their children and know their whereabouts. Also, the federal government can set up vocational institutions which can provide technical services such as music, art, etc. These schools will be where children in their free time can go and visit.

References

Adams, K. (2003). The effectiveness of juvenile curfews at crime prevention. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 587(1), 136-159

Wilson, D. B., Olaghere, A., & Gill, C. (2016). Juvenile curfew effects on criminal behavior and victimization: a Campbell Collaboration systematic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12(2), 167-186.

Grossman, E. R., & Miller, N. A. (2015). A systematic review of the impact of juvenile curfew laws on public health and justice outcomes. American journal of preventive medicine, 49(6), 945-951.

Navarro, S. Home by 11: The Effect of Juvenile Curfews on the Health of Teenagers.

Preusser, D. F., Zador, P. L., & Williams, A. F. (1993). The effect of city curfew ordinances on teenage motor vehicle fatalities. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 25(5), 641-645.

Sutphen, R. D., & Ford, J. (2001). The effectiveness and enforcement of a teen curfew law. J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare, 28, 55.

Williams, A. F., Lund, A. K., & Preusser, D. F. (1985). Night driving curfews in New York and Louisiana: results of a questionnaire survey. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 17(6), 461-466.