The Impact of Juvenile Curfew Laws*

Youth curfew ordinances are a widely touted, yet little studied policy tool available to local police departments. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of curfew ordinances by comparing the arrest behavior of various age groups within a city before and after curfew enactment. The evidence suggests that curfews are effective at reducing both violent and property crimes committed by juveniles below the statutory curfew age. Curfews do not appear to be effective at influencing the criminal behavior of youth just above the curfew age, suggesting that the choice of statutory curfew age is important in crafting policy. * The author would like to thank Rodney Andrews, John Bound, Charlie Brown, Shawn Bushway, Kerwin Charles, Phil DeCicca, Gary Solon, and Jeff Smith for helpful comments. All errors are my own. “[Youth curfews] help keep our children out of harm’s way. They give parents a tool to impart discipline, respect, and rules at an awkward and difficult time in children’s lives.” Bill Clinton (1996) “Can you tell the difference between a 19-year-old (who may be exempt from a curfew) and a 17-year-old (who may not be)? A law that gives the police the right -indeed, requires them -to stop people on the basis of their perceived age is an invitation to trouble.” Geoffrey Canada (1996), president of Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families