[Newsbot]

Title: Police to enforce kids� curfew in southwestern Ontario
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: wildrosegirl
Date: 2010-05-09 21:17:30
Canadian

[tritium]

There is no reason for a kid under 16 yrs old to be on the street after midnight.

Great news, and I hope they fine the parents too..

[DeBoom]

What a completely asinine policy. What justification is there to deny the use of public streets to an entire class of citizens?

Imagine if you read this in an article.

$1:

The curfew is in response to a “dramatic increase” of crime throughout the county, where police suspect a large number of thefts from vehicles and property damage recently was committed by African Americans.

There would be outrage over such an article. We realize that we shouldn't deny freedom of movement to citizens based on mere suspicion that people of the same race/religion/socioeconomic class. Likewise we shouldn't prevent people from using public streets just because they are of a certain age.

[QBall]

What a world we live in. Do you think my dad needed help from the mayor's office to ensure my ass was back at home before midnight?

[Gunnair]

DeBoom DeBoom:

What a completely asinine policy. What justification is there to deny the use of public streets to an entire class of citizens?

Imagine if you read this in an article.

$1:

The curfew is in response to a “dramatic increase” of crime throughout the county, where police suspect a large number of thefts from vehicles and property damage recently was committed by African Americans.

There would be outrage over such an article. We realize that we shouldn't deny freedom of movement to citizens based on mere suspicion that people of the same race/religion/socioeconomic class. Likewise we shouldn't prevent people from using public streets just because they are of a certain age.

Society regularly limits the rights and privlages of youth. There's nothing wrong with that.

[Brenda]

Wow... I would want my kids in before midnight too, that is why they are. Because I think they should, not because the ones that should be catching criminals bring them home...

[ShepherdsDog]

Curfews for foreigners would be a good idea too. 6AM to 6 PM is all the time they need to be out and about.

[Dragom]

It's true, there's no good reason for anyone to be out after midnight.

Unless your having an affair, waiting for your dealer to show up or trying to sell some narcotics there is no imaginable reason the police can't just round everyone up.

[Monkeyman]

If I was 15, I'd be pissed... but then again, when I was 15, I was an idiot. And they said they were doing this in order to cut down on crime. I doubt they'll really enforce it in situations that don't warrant it.

[Lemmy]

While I don't disagree with the idea of curfewing kids, isn't this something that the parents should be enforcing rather than the cops?

[DeBoom]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Society regularly limits the rights and privlages of youth. There's nothing wrong with that.

We limit when kids can drink because it is harmful to growing bodies and needs a level of maturity to safely use. We limit when kids can drive because a certain level of maturity is need before operation a deadly machine. We limit when youth can buy firearms for the same reason. We limit who can smoke because it is addictive.

Notice the common theme, we limit what youth can do because of dangers. We shouldn't limit them from using public streets because someone suspects they might be committing, especially when freedom of movement is in the Charter.

Dragom Dragom:

It's true, there's no good reason for anyone to be out after midnight.

Unless your having an affair, waiting for your dealer to show up or trying to sell some narcotics there is no imaginable reason the police can't just round everyone up.

This past Friday I saw a 945pm showing of Ironman 2. The film ended at midnight and I had half an hour walk through downtown Kingston to get from the movie theater to my dorm room. Are you seriously suggesting that I should have been arrested for the "crime" of walking home past midnight?

Canada is a free country where freedom of movement is guaranteed in the constitution (something the Americans don't even have). It is inconsistent with basic Canadian values and freedoms to prevent citizens from using public streets. Not to mention the idea of arresting anyone out past midnight flies in the face of being innocent until proven guilty.

If anyone is going to institute a curfew it should be the parents.

[Dragom]

Nah, probably just the crime of not having a ride or taking a taxi thus representing willingly making yourself a potential target for a mugging or rape or allowing yourself time to perpetrate either of those crimes on another.

I am joking but I'm also trying to show how frightening reasonable expanding a curfew like that to everyone would be.

[SprCForr]

The pendulum continues to swing. It'll eventually go away again due to apathetic parents and an overworked police force.

[martin14]

Lemmy Lemmy:

While I don't disagree with the idea of curfewing kids, isn't this something that the parents should be enforcing rather than the cops?

I would say its a reaction to parents either not enforcing
or not being able to enforce some discipline on their kids.

Bit of a shame it had to come to this.