Recently the Government passed a law to let councils put curfews on young people and allow police to ensure young people are in at a certain time. We found out what young people thought of the idea....
| A curfew would work, but it would waste police time. They could be doing something useful, instead of chasing around after children. |
Sophie Stuart, 14, Newcastle
I understand why parents would want a curfew because they want to keep their child safe at night. Kids might want to stay out longer with their friends. Kids want to have fun. I think under 16s should be home by about 10pm - any later, the pubs are open and anything could happen. A curfew is a good idea but it should be later than 9pm.
I don't think a curfew will work however because if kids want to stay out that's what they're going to do no matter who tells them. A curfew would make kids miss time they could spend socialising.
Rebecca Smith, 13, Ryton
A curfew would help stop people drinking on the streets. It would mean parents know where their children are and what they are doing. But a curfew would be a waste of police time. They could be doing something useful, something better, instead of chasing around after children.
I think a curfew would work, I don't think young people will be very happy about it but if the curfew was made then they'd have to go with it. If children don't do what the police say, then they'd be in trouble. A good time to be in would be 9.30 to 10pm.
Sarah Cooley, 13, Newcastle
I don't agree with curfews because kids have their own say and they should be allowed to come in at the time they want although I think children under 16 should be in by 10-10.30pm. A curfew could work depending on what time it was and whether kids agreed to it but a curfew could make kids stay out even longer.
Laura Chambers, 14, Ashington
A curfew is good because it gets people off the streets at a normal time and you know they're safe. If you didn't have a curfew then kids would be running around the streets at all hours.
When they should be in depends on the age of the child. If they were aged nine to 14 then I would say they should be in by 9.30pm at the latest because there might be druggies and alcoholics around coming out of the pubs.
Anything could happen if you're out too late. Whether a curfew will work depends on what young people think about it. I think it probably will work because people won't want to get picked up by the police and get into trouble.
Jennifer Shorton, 12, Newcastle
A curfew is a good idea so that people won't get up to mischief. Some people could disagree with it because they don't want to go in at that time. Under 16s should be home by 9.30-10pm because they could get in danger.
Drew Shreeve, 10, Meadowell
I think a curfew will work. It will keep people off the streets. It will keep them from setting fires, smashing windows and things like that. A curfew though isn't a good use of police time because if there are dangerous robberies and there are kids running about the streets setting fires, the police will go and see them and not see about the robbery. Children should be in by 7.30 to 7.45 because of bad people on the streets.
Ayse McKenna, 10, Newcastle
It's important to have a curfew because if you're not in by a certain time people could kidnap you or anything else might happen. Around 9pm is a sensible time to be in because it gets dark. I don't know if it will work because I don't think people will come in at the time they have to. It isn't the best use of police time because they might have something important to go to rather than mess around with children.
Kerry Turnbull, 11, Newcastle
I agree with a curfew because anybody could pick children up. A sensible time to be home would be 9pm because round that time men come out. I don't think curfews will work because some children will want to come in at certain times.
About the team
Interviews by reporters Dean Bransby, 13, and Emma Dickman, 10. Junior Jury is a weekly column published in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
