Are Teen Curfews a Good Idea?

Seandell Holliday, 16, was fatally shot on a Saturday night last May while hanging out with other teens at a popular Chicago park. Afterward, city officials moved Chicago’s teen curfew to 10 p.m. instead of 11 p.m.—and to 6 p.m. on weekends in the park where Seandell was killed.

Curfew advocates say such rules protect young people. In the first half of 2022, thefts and robberies in major cities rose by about 20 percent each on average compared to the same period in 2021, one criminal justice group found. Curfews, supporters argue, lessen the likelihood of teens becoming victims.

The limits can also help teens avoid making bad choices, supporters say. Research has shown that human brains aren’t fully developed until adulthood, so teens may struggle with impulse control.

Noel Villepigue, 16, of Weston, Connecticut, finds that to be especially true late in the day. “After a certain time, like 11 p.m., I get tired and may not make the best decisions,” he says.

Curfew supporters say getting teens off the streets at night helps deter vandalism, fighting, and other rowdy behavior. As Chris Taliaferro, a Chicago legislator, puts it, curfews “ensure that [teens] are at the right places at the right time, which doesn’t include being unsupervised late at night.”

Another plus is that everyone has to be home by the same time. Says Noel, “It makes me feel more comfortable knowing that all of my friends have the same curfew.”

Setting restrictions on when teens can be out at night doesn’t increase public safety, curfew opponents say. They point to studies showing little or no decrease in overall crime when curfew laws are set or strictly enforced. In some cases, illegal activity even goes up. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, robberies involving guns increased in the weeks after that city expanded its 10 p.m. curfew to apply to teens younger than 18. (The old curfew allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to be out until midnight.)

Isabella Delbakhsh, 16, of Orlando, Florida, calls curfews “a pointless effort to control us” because the teens who will follow the rules aren’t the ones who were getting in trouble in the first place. “One hour is not going to change the behavior of teens who like to break the rules and be rebellious,” she says.

Plus, curfews can unfairly punish responsible teens for the wrongs of others, points out Chicago youth activist Baltazar Enriquez.

“This is going to stereotype every young person in downtown,” Enriquez explains of Chicago’s curfew change. 

Something must be done to reduce crime, curfew opponents agree. But putting added pressure on teens is the wrong way to achieve such goals, Isabella says: “Setting stricter rules is not the answer.”