Redruth curfew

The town of Redruth in southern England has has, for the last two weeks, a voluntary Curfew imposed on it's young people 8pm for 10 and under and 9pm for 16 and under. The supporters of this, including the police, claim that it''s a lot more peaceful, no children screaming pushing each other into bushes laughing and shouting. Parents suggest they have more time with their children who are better behaved. The police verify the success of the program by claiming reduced crime figures. They also claim that this is a way of protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

Opponents claim this is an infringement of the civil liberties of our children grouping the well behaved kids with the little shits mentioned in other posts. They also claim the police have used strong arm tactics with parents claiming that if they can't abide by the "voluntary" curfew that social services may have to be called. They also claim that if there are enough police to oversee the curfew then their should be enough to police the area properly without a curfew. They also claim that there are no excuses for being out late like band practice, scouts, BB etc.

some info

Is this the way to deal with our kids give even more control to the government (less to the parents). My Mum and Dad set my curfew and I was grounded for a month if I broke it. Have we lost the ability to parent our kids, happy to let the government dictate to us, or has society changed so much that we need the governments help.

This post has been edited by bigbaldybloke: Aug 14 2008, 07:59 AM

In my view a responsible parent should moderate and enforce the time their children stay out until, if they aren't doing it someone else should. Fair play to Redruth Council.

Since when is it acceptable for the state (let alone the local authority) to remove the basic civil liberty of freedom of movement from people not convicted of (or actively involved in) a crime, just because they fit a certain demographic profile... what's next, no Muslims on public transport?

If I lived there, I'm damn sure it would be ME that decided what time my kids were to be in at night, not the local council or the police.

Good Lord, the British Empire's fallen!

That's as maybe, YMG but I trust that you'd be sensible and stern enough to make sure your kids weren't little wankers.

It's a sad state of affairs but until they introduce compulsory parenting classes to show these fuckwits who keep churning out litter upon litter of kids(and not teaching them one ounce of respect, manners or any social skills) how to raise them correctly, this is going to be necessary.

This post has been edited by m15hun: Aug 14 2008, 02:39 PM

Yeah! it was a quote off the telly, a woman who was loving the peace and quiet since the curfew, but then kids were a lot quieter in her day.... If that's the worst behavior me and my mates would be arrested on sight on the way home from the pub FFS.....

While I hate to admit it I do agree with most of what YMG said, good idea by they way about keeping Muslims/muslim looking people off public transport. But there are, and admittedly always have been, young kids out late at night, and I'm referring to after 11pm... But I don't think criminalising all youths/hoodies just to be able to watch dragons den without the sound of children playing is the way forward.

This post has been edited by bigbaldybloke: Aug 14 2008, 02:38 PM

I have an elderly aunt who recently suggested to me, in all seriousness, that if she were in power then clothing manufacturers would not be allowed to make hooded tops. She is 82 so may be excused on the grounds of senility. Quite what drives policy makers towards these kind of solutions I don't know. Perhaps early onset senility?

I know it makes no sense to demonise a person because of their chosen apparel but surely people can see that an item of clothing that facilitates the covering of ones face isn't necessarily a good quality to have in leisure wear. I mean, I could walk around in a goaltender's mask but that would be frowned upon..

an anorak or raincoat could do the same thing I remember everyone, when i went to school, wore a snorkel jacket... there was widespread vandalism bus seats torn up to the point where all city buses had hard plastic seats installed... cinemas had their seats ripped and it was impossible to take a bus journey without someone sniffing glue.... Mass fight between mods,skinheads, punks, bikers, and rockers were common... Lots of people carried razors, bike chains and flick knives.... Whole estates were no go areas for the police and were governed by mob rule....

I think the point is more that banning hooded tops wouldn't make people any better behaved than they are now. Wetter and colder, possibly. Unless the idea is to make it illegal to cover one's face outdoors?

I understand that banning a certain type of clothing isn't going to drive down crime and anti-social behaviour, but people must understand why certain folk are put off or nervous around people (not just youths) that feel the need to cover their face.

I happily wear a hooded sweatshirt on the way home from the gym or when I'm walking the dog of a morning but I don't pull it down low over my eyes and lurk around..

Having people think you dress like you're ne'er-do-well is not a crime.

If we're going to start removing civil liberties from people because some others are intimidated purely by their appearance, then we're going to need to start banning you from walking your dogs... I know loads of people who are intimidated by large dogs, so that's the end of you and your hounds. While we're at it, there are many people who are intimidated by young black males, lets ban them from congregating or going outside at night too.

In fact, fuck it.... lets just chip, tag and curfew every person who is not a white middle class 30+ person who doesn't dress in a conformist manner

Keep in mind we are talking about children here. I certainly don't want a child having unchecked "civil liberties". It sounds great in theory, but people need to keep in mind that children aren't adults. They don't get the same rights as adults and for good reason. When curfews are put in place for adults, with a few exceptions, then you have a problem.

Why is this even a problem? Isn't there an extensive CCTV system in the UK? If some kids do something wrong don't they get recorded at some point?

Children DO have civil rights under both the European Human Rights Act, and the UNCRC.


People used to say exactly the same about black people in the 50's and 60's... they were wrong too.

Of course children have rights. Who was arguing they didn't?


If they where saying it about black children then they where right. It's true of children irrelevant of race. You seriously aren't going to try and argue that children should have the same rights, or "civil liberties", as adults... are you?

If that's the case then you are also suggesting that they be allowed to smoke, drink, drive cars, own guns, etc...

It's an absurd suggestion.

If children are commiting crimes so often that it becomes an issue it tells me parents are unable to properly teach/control/discipline their children. When that's the case the community needs to step in and do something to protect themselves and others.