Teen curfews added in some towns, challenged in others

Decades ago, a question punctuated a popular late-night newscast in Chicago: "It's 10:30," the anchor would say. "Do you know where your children are?" It was a reminder to parents that anyone younger than 17 was supposed to be off the streets and obeying a citywide curfew -- one that remains in effect today.

"If you're 16 or younger, you belong in the house, not standing on a street corner," says Chicago police spokesman Pat Camden whose department caught 40,335 curfew violators last year.

You've got to wonder about this sort of thing. What sane person could condone treating a human being this way -- putting them under legal risk of incarceration for simply being out of doors at night? What sane person considers issuing over 40 thousand curfew violation citations in a single year to be a useful activity for the police? Shouldn't they be chasing real criminals?

This is just another case demonstrating that being a minor in the United States as just another way of saying "second class citizen".

Posted on 2004-02-01 23:01:56.0 by matthew@triggerfinger.org

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