 The CURFEW: Is It Working?So Far, So Good! Recent increases in juvenile crime and victimization has prompted communities across the country to consider and pass evening curfews as a means to increase the safety of the community and its young people. Lexington is no different. In April 1995 Lexington’s curfew went into effect. It was the subject of controversy during the time it was being considered by Lexington’s Urban-County Council. Some were searching for ways to curb youth crime. Others were afraid that a curfew would be an excuse to target black youths; while others claimed that it somehow infringed on a juvenile’s freedoms. It passed. Twelve council members voted for the curfew and three voted against it. Lexington’s curfew has been in effect now for almost two years and the statistics are in. What’s the verdict?
The data collected by the Lexington Division of Police answers those questions. Police compared the number of juveniles arrested during curfew hours from April 30, 1994 to October 31, 1995 with the number of juveniles from April 30, 1995 through October 31, 1996. Police records show that arrests of juveniles during curfew hours are down 22% after the curfew went into effect.
During the period between April 30, 1995 and October 31,1996 the police wrote 661 curfew violations. 484 (73%) were written to white youths and 171 (26%) to black youths and 6 (1%) to others. The violations were written to youths ranging in age from 11 to 17.
Violations of the curfew ordinance were written on every day of the week. However, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays were the nights on which most were written.
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