Under a Local Child Curfew, a local authority or local police force can ban children under 16 from being in a public place during specified hours (between 9pm and 6am) unless under the control of a responsible adult. With children under 10, contravening a ban imposed by a curfew notice (for instance being found outside their homes after the curfew) is one of the conditions under which a family proceedings court could make the child subject to a Child Safety Order.
A local authority or police force can apply to the Home Secretary for a Local Child Curfew where a problem had been identified, for instance, with unsupervised children or young people involved in late night anti-social behaviour. A Local Child Curfew can last for up to 90 days and only applies to children under 16 years of age.
No local child curfew scheme has yet been set up under these powers which were provided by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Sections 48 and 49 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. Use has been made, however, of the dispersal and curfew powers under section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. For more information on powers relating to anti-social behaviour, see the Respect website [opens in new window].