Dallas' proposed daytime juvenile curfew

I heard much of the debate yesterday during the Dallas City Council's agenda meeting on the subject of whether individuals 16 and younger should, for all practical purposes, be banned from cruising city streets between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on school days.

Our city leaders, showing their typical timidity on any subject that's halfway controversial, put off a vote until May 13 when Da Mayor decreed a decision will be made, one way or another. (Yesterday was the second public hearing without action on the matter.)

I thought most of those on the council were looking at this proposed ordinance in entirely the wrong way. They were seeing it as a potential hardship on kids and their parents who would have to pay the fines if their offspring were nabbed during curfew hours. They saw it as a "punish-the-kiddos" ordinance.

I have not talked to Police Chief David Kunkle about this, but I'm betting he's not viewing the proposal this wa, but as a crime-deterrent ordinance -- another tool he needs to keep reducing crime numbers in the city, including the most prominent crimes being committed, automobile and house burglaries. If these kids know that there could be repercussions for cruising the streets looking for cars or houses to break in, they won't be doing that. It doesn't matter whether the kids are in school, although I'm betting Kunkle would advocate that's where they should be.

Now, here's my problem: I'm convinced deterrents don't work. I've always been an outspoken opponent of capital punishment because I believe killing is wrong, regardless of who is committing the act. The argument I've always heard in favor of capital punishment is that it serves as a deterrent -- the possibility of death by lethal injection will prevent two men from barging through the door of a Fort Worth residence and killing a guy; it will stop a father from strangling his 2-year-old son; a 37-year-old man won't be gunned down in the parking lot of an Oak Cliff Mexican restaurant; will mean Kathleen Garza will be found alive and well; the fatal stabbing of Carl Dupree Willis; all of this would have been avoided; and Christine Robertson would still be alive.

Sure. Fine. Whatever. The U.S. is one of the few civilized countries in the world that still employs capital punishment and we have the highest murder rate of any of 'em. Yeah, that's some deterrent.

I've also recently completed a course geared to helping parents deal with children's behavior called "Love & Logic." It is based on the premise that deterrents, especially when dealing with the young, don't work. Why? Because our youngsters are fighting for control in a world in which they have very little control. The one thing they can control is their own behavior and they are going to go down swinging to maintain that control. What our city leaders should be doing, according to this theory, is giving juveniles incentives to modify their behavior, not threats of punishment if they don't.

But I'm willing to give Chief Kunkle the benefit of the doubt on this one. If I was sitting on that Dallas City Council come May 13, I would ask the chief to conservatively estimate by what percentage he expects auto, home break-ins and other crimes he feels are being committed by juvenile truants to be reduced during the next year. Then I would move to implement the daytime curfew for school days during the next year, to be made permanent only if these crime reduction numbers are reached or exceeded.