Justice
The Trouble With Youth Curfews
Rules targeting youths often don't produce public safety results
Seemingly at random, groups of teenagers had begun converging in Philadelphia.
Like other spontaneous gatherings, many of these so-called "flash mobs" were fairly harmless in nature. But others got out of hand. First, there were incidences of shoplifting and pushing. Then, on July 29, upwards of 40 youths got violent in Central City, beating and hospitalizing 59 people. Days later, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced emergency changes to the city’s youth curfew, setting earlier time restrictions and specifically targeting neighborhoods where the groups of youth had gathered.