Curfews and Delinquency in Major American Cities

Abstract

In 1972, the Board of Trustees of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency called for the abolishment of municipal curfew ordinances. This article examines whether curfews have withered away as called for by supporters of the “noninterventionist” juvenile justice reform model, or whether they have flourished as part of the alternative “get tough” reform movement. The findings show that 59 of the 77 American cities with 1992 populations of more than 200,000 now have curfews. In one 5-year period (1990-1994) 26 of these 77 major cities adopted curfews for the first time. Key issues of curfew implementation are discussed.