Experts: Curfew not a good answer to delinquency problem

The government was asked recently whether it would consider a night curfew to reduce crimes committed by youths. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Two psychologists have voiced their support for a government decision against imposing a curfew on children under 18 as a means of dealing with juvenile delinquency.

Geshina Ayu Mat Saat of Universiti Sains Malaysia and clinical psychologist Chua Sook Ning told FMT they welcomed a statement made in the Dewan Negara recently by the deputy minister of women, family and community development in response to a question from Senator Asmak Husin.

The deputy minister, Hannah Yeoh, spoke of beneficial activities held at night, such as tuition classes and prayer sessions, and said the onus was on parents and local leaders to keep children away from unhealthy activities.

The senator had asked whether the government was considering a night curfew to reduce crimes committed by youths. Yeoh said Putrajaya had no intention to do so.

Geshina said it was questionable whether such a curfew would appreciably reduce the crime rate. She pointed out that crimes, including violent crimes, “don’t occur only at night and youths are not the only perpetrators”.

“Many crimes, including acts of violence, occur during daylight hours and off the streets,” she said, citing domestic violence, rape, kidnapping, terrorist activities and drug trafficking as examples.

However, she said she might support a curfew with “clear guidelines” such as a requirement for parental supervision of youths.

“I would suggest a public poll exercise to see what people think of this move,” she added.

Chua said a curfew would not address the issue of why youths would engage in delinquent behaviour in the first place.

“Youth violence is a symptom of a bigger problem that needs to be addressed,” she said. “Risk factors include non-intact families and/or poor parent-child relationships, association with delinquent peers, and school disengagement.”

Both Chua and Geshina said violence among youths should nevertheless be a matter of concern for the authorities.

Chua referred to Social Welfare Department statistics showing that 4,569 cases of juvenile delinquency were reported in 2015 and Geshina spoke of rising incidences of violence among youths.

“However, increases in the number of cases may be a reflection of increased reporting, changes in legislation, increased and faster sentencing as well as wider social media coverage,” said Geshina, who also has a qualification in criminology.

Pointing to studies linking juvenile delinquency to environments supporting violence, she said: “Abusive and violent behaviours are often first observed and learned from people in the immediate environment.

“When children perceive benefits to behaving violently, they will develop and perform more violent behaviours that later become normal to them.

“A minority of people have psychopathy or violent traits, but environments that support these traits make it more likely for violent children to become violent adults.”

She also cited research which found that the younger the age of first involvement in delinquency, the longer a person would stay in a life of crime or delinquent behaviour.

Chua called for prevention strategies that were holistic and positive in their approach rather than those advocating punishment.

She said these would include parenting programmes, life and social skill development, bullying prevention programmes and the reduction of access to substances such as alcohol and drugs. -FMT