"Curfew law" for children brought juvenile crime down, Stavropol authorities believe

The authorities of the Stavropol Territory say that the territorial law, which introduced a sort of "curfew" for children, is OK; and a system of measures was designed to promote it. Opponents of the law believe that it restricts human rights and indicate to the high corruption component that hampers to enforce it.

Let us remind you that Territorial Law No. 52 "On some measures to protect legitimate rights and interests of minors" was passed on July 16, 2009, and entered into force on January 1, 2010.

According to the law, teenagers are prohibited to stay in places selling goods of sexual nature, alcohol and tobacco products; teenagers under 16 cannot attend, without their parents, guardians or accompanying adults, public events and be outdoor from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (in summer time, that is, from June 1 to August 31 - from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.).

According to the data obtained from Oleg Varakin, head of the juvenile division of the GUVD (Chief Interior Department) of the Stavropol Territory, in 2010, juvenile crime went down by 6.3 percent. According to Article 26 of the Law, which assumes fines ranging from 300 to 500 roubles, over 1000 parents were fined for their children walking at night.

The number of adolescents who participated in crimes dropped by 4 percent; the number of grave and especially grave crimes went down by almost 15 percent; and the number of adolescents detained in the state of alcoholic intoxication dropped by 14 percent. "Of course, parents perceive the law differently. There are those who believe that their children should respond for themselves, but we haven't received any official complaints against the militia," said Oleg Varakin.

Tatiana Zima, Chief Specialist of the Ministry of Education of the Territory, believes that the joint and several liability, born under the law by unsupervised children and their parents, is encouraging adults to deeper and more systematic engagement in raising their children.

However, the Stavropol law has opponents. Boris Obolenets, chairman of the territorial branch of the Party "Union of Right-Wing Forces", was among the six MPs who voted against the law. He is sure that the law restricts human rights.

"In the society with high level of corruption the danger remains of unfair actions of law enforcers," said Mr Obolenets.