Critics say curfews criminalise youth

Human rights organisation Liberty claims almost three-quarters of
English and Welsh councils have issued curfews for teenagers during
the summer evenings.

Councils across the country have given police powers to break up
groups of more than two people they deem to be behaving
anti-socially. They can also send home teenagers aged under 16 who
are on the streets between 9pm and 6am. Young people breaking the
curfews could face a £2,500 fine or three months in
prison.

But Liberty said the move meant under-16s were being treated like
criminals for being out after 9pm. Leicestershire police said crime
had fallen by 40 per cent since police were granted extra powers to
restrict the movement of young people in the Wigston area of
Leicester.