Child curfew laws extended

Police gain extra powers under the new measures

New legislation giving local authorities the power to impose curfews on older children comes into force on Wednesday.

The law - designed to defend communities from anti-social behaviour and to protect children - will extend curfew schemes to include youths up to the age of 15.

Local authorities can already apply for curfew orders for children under 10, to keep them off the streets and out of trouble during the night.

But opponents have criticised the new measures, which they say are unenforceable.

Groups of young people involved in anti-social behaviour can cause fear and distress

Beverley Hughes
Home Office minister

Ministers say extending the age range will give authorities the flexibility to provide better protection for communities and young people.

The new law also allows the police, as well as local authorities, to make curfew applications.

Local child curfew orders were first introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

As well as individuals, local curfew orders can be sought for trouble spots known to be centres of anti-social behaviour or dangerous for children.

But ministers decided that changes were needed after it emerged that no local authority had applied for an order, more than a year after the law appeared on the statute books.

Home Office minister, Beverley Hughes, said the new measures would help to protect communities and to prevent young people from taking part in criminal activities.

"Groups of young people involved in anti-social behaviour can cause fear and distress in local communities," she said.

"The police, as well as local authorities, now have clear powers to take any child found in breach of a local child curfew order home to their parents, or to a safe place."

She said the law would help to protect older children "from adults such as drug dealers or pimps, or older peers encouraging them into criminal activities".

"Changes to enable police forces to apply for orders will also ensure that they are used to maximum effect, utilising officers' detailed knowledge of known problem groups and areas."

Parents 'approve'

The extended curfew orders can cover the hours between 9pm and 6am.

They last up to 90 days, after which they can be renewed, and there is no criminal penalty for breaking them.

Ministers say the orders should not be used in isolation, but should form part of an integrated response to tackling crime and disorder, including local consultation.

According to the Home Office, a similar scheme started in Scotland in 1997 - the Hamilton Child Safety Initiative - has proved effective.

Evaluation after six months showed that 87% of parents of children returned home by police approved of the initiative, and crime associated with juveniles fell by up to 40% in some areas.