Results of Curfews? San Diego found crime increased

The full story is at http://sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/necessary_evil/7030/

San Diego instituted a strictly enforced 10 pm to 6 am curfew eleven years ago. What happened may be a cultural change and is bound to be studied by criminologists. The article does not provide information about whether gangs were as prevalent when the curfew began. It does state that gang activities had increased when the curfew was first instituted.

The article reveals that this year gang-related crimes are up 23% and gang-related homicides increased 61%. A study done in California by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice nine years ago found that curfews had little effect on juvenile crime rates. They found that most juvenile crime took place between 3 and 6 pm. What is not revealed is whether the youth crime they refer to is property crime or violent crime.

If the curfew is not working, one wonders why it remains and takes up so much police time.

Left unreported is whether teen-age driving accidents had decreased since more of those occur in the late night hours.

Have you any thoughts on other alternatives to reduce youth crime?