The Positive and Negative Effects of the Curfew in...

Introduction In 2003 the Labor Premier of Western Australia Geoff Gallop, introduced legislation that enforced a after-dark curfew on all civilians under the age of eighteen, unless they were accompanied by a legal guardian. The curfew was restricted to the city’s entertainment precinct know as Northbridge. This report will be looking into both the positives and negatives of the curfew and if there is a community need to extend the curfew to other areas of the city and surrounding areas. The Legislation 26 June 2003, Labor Premier Geoff Gallop announced the introduction of The Young People in Northbridge Policy. It was designed to address the growing problem of youth that were unsupervised in Perth’s largest entertaining precinct,†¦show more content†¦Gallop’s curfew policy was announced due to a climate of growing concern over Community safety in the Northbridge area. These community concerns were documented in the Northbridge: Shaping the future report, released by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) in 2002. While the domineering concern by the report was the increasing rate of assault within the district, the report also acknowledged â€Å"anti-social behaviour, particularly by young people†, (DPC, 2002, p. 3). By restricting the presents of juveniles during the hours of the curfew the community becomes safer due to two main factors, reduction of juvenile crime and the reduction of juvenile harm, (Brown, 2000; Simpson Simpson, 1993). A study in conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) proved that juveniles were more likely to commit crime then adults 3,532 per 100,000 juveniles compared to 1,492 per 100,000 adults between the years 2005 – 2006, (AIC, 2009, p. 58). However since the introduction of the Northbridge curfew crime rates have dropped by 20% for juveniles in the first year alone,(Department of the Premier and Cabinet, 2004). These statistics show that the Northbridge curfew is making the community feel safer and that less violence is happening between juveniles in the Northbridge and city area. By having a curfew in place the opportunity for juveniles is decreased as they are less