Under draconian curfew laws under-16s are being treated like criminals for doing nothing more than being outside their homes past 9pm. 79% of police forces in England and Wales have imposed 9pm curfews on the under-16s in their area. 
  
These powers enable the police to move on any person under the age of 16 who is outside of their home after 9 o’clock. The police can use these powers even if they have no reason to believe that the young person in question is actually involved in or is likely to be involved in anti-social behaviour. 
 
The police already have many powers to deal with the kinds of low-level offending of the type causing concern in many communities. Child curfew powers are only of any supplementary ‘benefit’ to the police if targeted indiscriminately at those who have not yet misbehaved at all. 

Our lawyers acted for 'W', the 15-year-old boy from Richmond who successfully challenged the legality of curfews for under-16s. Earlier this year the Court of Appeal dealt a severe blow to the control order powers. It ruled that the police only have the power to use force to remove children who are involved in, or at risk from, actual or imminently anticipated bad behaviour.