Juvenile curfew and crime reduction: Evidence from Brazil

Abstract

The city of Fernandópolis, located in the countryside of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, imposed a juvenile curfew in 2005. This decision was not made at the municipal or state level, but in a courtroom. Subsequently, other municipalities in the state of São Paulo decided to adopt a juvenile curfew. To assess the effect of the curfew on reducing crime, this paper uses the difference‐in‐differences estimation to compare its impact, relative to municipalities that did not adopt a curfew. The results suggest that the curfew led to a decrease of 17.9% in thieves per thousand inhabitants in municipalities that adopted it.

No time for crime? The effect of compulsory engagement on youth crime

“…Using Comparative Interrupted Time Series analysis, I find a 19 percent reduction in property crime committed by offenders aged 15‐17. Carazza et al (2020) find a similar affect of a curfew (post 11 pm) on property crime by youth in Brazil. I also find that the magnitude of the reduction in crime increases as increasing proportions of the treatment age‐group are exposed to the policy‐change.…”

“…The change in the participation age from 15 to 17 in the most populous state of Australia in 2010 increased school participation substantially. The policy change provides a useful source of exogenous variation 41 to estimate the impact of participation law on crime in an institutional setting with non-academic or outside options.Using Comparative Interrupted Time Series analysis, I find a 19 percent reduction in property crime committed by offenders aged 15-17 Carazza et al (2020). find a similar affect of a curfew (post 11 pm) on property crime by youth in Brazil.…”

“…Although they find a reduction in juvenile crimes, the focus of the paper is on teenage pregnancy. Carazza et al (2020) examine the impact of curfew on youth on crime in the context of Brazil. Their paper is, perhaps, the closest to this paper in that youth are incapacitated.…”