effectiveness of the curfew law at reducing youth crime

effectiveness of the curfew law at reducing youth crime

The discussion

The best type of evaluation that can be done towards determining the effectiveness of the curfew law at reducing youth crime is experimental outcome evaluation. It is the third stage of evaluation and involves the experimental research design. The reason why this is the best type of design for the curfew on youths is that it consists of a comparison or a control group that does not receive the intervention, curfew, besides the group that is given the curfew (Elliott & Fagan, 2017). This feature makes this type of intervention to be able to offer more convincing evidence that the curfew on youths can result in a reduction in criminal activities or some other outcome. That is the reason why this forms the best type of evaluation about the curfew on youth crime. In this evaluation, the comparison group considered is that of the young adults who are above age 25 (Kline, 2012). This is an age that is above the curfew age.

To determine the effectiveness of the curfew, I will have to come up with statistics to determine the changes in crime rates. The data that will be collected to determine that include the age group. Under  the age group, there will be youth below the curfew age, and adults above age 25. Then, I will also have a column for the outcome where I will have to collect the various arrests. These include arrests for type I offenses, arrests for violent crime, arrests for property crimes, and arrests for severe violent crimes.

I would investigate the degree to which the curfew law was implemented and enforced by looking at the results that the evaluation will give. For instance, if the curfews generate a large reduction in the number of arrests of the youth who are below the curfew age, then the conclusion will be that it was effective. As Kline (2012) puts it, the effectiveness of the youth curfews can only be evaluated by making a comparison of the behavior of the different age groups within a city before and after the implementation of a lockout. For example, Kline 2012 research found that curfews generated a considerable reduction in the number of arrests of youth below the curfew age. The arrests dropped by 15% in the year after the curfew policy was enacted, and it appeared to revert slowly after that, to a new steady-state level 10% below the baseline. He came up with a table and indicated that in the average city under consideration, a permanent 10% reduction equaled about 135 youth arrests per year. He suggested that the results are, to some extent, not reliable; the young adults above the curfew age also show some decrease in arrests. Additionally, small decreases also happen among adults over the age of 25, for whom no such trends were identified.

Besides, I would also investigate the degree to which the curfew law was being implemented and enforced as intended by surveying society. The survey will be in the form of interviews to find out from the community if curfews are effective. The interview will target both parents and teenagers. For instance, Adams, K. (2003) conducted a survey among parents and teenagers and found that 81% of parents and 76% of teenagers agreed that a curfew assisted reduce juvenile delinquency in the county. Additionally, the author states that perceived efficacy is also the primary consideration of the officials in deciding to put in place curfew laws. An example was given of 88% mayors in cities that have curfew laws believed that when the curfew laws were enforced, the streets were safer (Adams, 2003). That means that I will also consider the county officials and ask them about the effectiveness of the curfew laws; their response will determine whether or not the rules are effective.

References

Kline, P. (2012). The impact of juvenile curfew laws on arrests of youth and adults. American Law and Economics Review, 14(1), 44-67.

Elliott, D., & Fagan, A. (2017). The prevention of crime. John Wiley & Sons.

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.