In the state of Arizona, teenagers 16 and under have a curfew at 10 pm, and teenagers 16-18 have a curfew at midnight. In reality, parents almost always want their precious child back home by sundown, even though the children want to be back 30 seconds before legal curfew.

Many discussions and statistics show that crimes committed by teenagers at night are committed after curfew hours. With that in mind, I think curfews are helpful and needed.

Curfews and designated times for a teen to arrive at home are greatly beneficial, especially to the child’s parents. Sometimes, parents might even give their kids a curfew earlier than the state curfew, but with the state curfew, the parent does not have to remember the time they gave their teen.  It is also helpful for the teenager because they do not have to worry about the whole “remembering” dilemma either. Having a curfew makes it easier to be out later without a parent.

These lockout times are also needed. Most teenagers say curfews are stupid, but they really aren’t.

Imagine if you were a police officer in this scenario. It is around 10:30 pm and you get a call saying there is a 14-16 year teen committing acts of vandalism and is now on the run. While he is running, he has his hand on the spray paint can and is just spraying random walls and buildings. You then set up your GPS and, right when you’re about to drive off, you get a second call saying there is a man on top of the city’s tallest building about to jump. You are then torn and have to decide in the moment. This situation is not an easy one, but since there are curfews with sufficient consequences, the first call would not even exist. This imaginary cop could go save the man on top of the tall building. Curfews can stop vandalism, teen crimes, and maybe even deaths.

Curfews, state or parental, are needed so much and are actually extremely useful to not just parents but also to you. They also benefit our community.