By Carmelo Abela

Children in their early teens expect to be treated like grown-ups and their actions and attitudes at times are not easily understood.

Parents feel that they are powerless in such a situation. This leads to a position where a higher institution should intervene in order to try to make up for the problem. It is a well-known fact that we have many laws but we find great difficulty in enforcing them.

A night-time curfew for youngsters under the age of 15 or 16 will add more problems to law enforcement authorities. This can shift the focus of enforcement agencies from other situations of bigger magnitude such as drug abuse. Another issue would be to determine at what age the curfew should be implemented.

Obviously the presence of public officers in places that are frequented by the younger generation is most desirable; it serves as a deterrent to crime.

However, we should give more importance to educating both children and parents. To be a good parent has never been a joke and it is even more so nowadays. Therefore, attending a course in parental skills can help to have a better understanding of children. On the other hand, life skills education in school is an important tool for youngsters.

Most of the time children are on their own and they have to decide what to do and how to act in different situations in every day life.

Problems can be encountered not only during the night but also during the day. Luckily, although certain categories of crime are on the increase, in Malta it is still relatively safe for those who stay out late at night. I am a strong believer in discipline and I firmly believe that if we manage to educate children in self-discipline there will never be a need to impose night curfews on teenagers.

Mr Abela is the Labour Party’s spokesperson for Youth and Sport and a Member of Parliament

 
By Jurgen Balzan

Sound of the word curfew the first image that comes to my mind is of Nazi Germany which imposed a strict curfew on Jews. By no means should a curfew be introduced in that spirit.

Curfews are usually associated with authoritarian states. They would definitely not give us a favourable image as a country.

A night-time curfew for youngsters is considered by some as a solution in the fight against alcohol abuse by under 16’s. One may argue that if youngsters under the age of sixteen are not allowed to be in Paceville or any other nightspot after 1am then the possibility of these youngsters drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or doing anything else their parents disapprove of is severely controlled.

I tend to disagree. Firstly, it is very hard to impose such a curfew. Imagine police officers standing at every corner in Paceville asking passers-by to show their ID card. It does not seem very practicable. The whole thing would be a logistical nightmare for the police force.

An easier solution would be enforcing existing laws. If existing laws, which state that alcohol and cigarettes cannot be sold to minors, are enforced then the problem would be solved.

Another myth is the belief that abuse and crime is only done in the dark of the night. Alcohol abuse and other abuses could well happen in broad daylight. The scenes seen at local festas are far more frightening than Paceville and other popular nightspots that serve alcohol to minors.

At the end of the day it’s up to the parents and the youngsters themselves to decide what time they should get home and what kind of beverages to drink. It would be a very unpleasant feeling to sense this Big Brother watching you from above at every corner. This is not 1984!

Mr Balzan is Secretary General of Alternattiva Demokratika Studenti