Anna Allan等孩子將警方和理事會所謂的“兒童安全倡議”視為禁令。Anna生于上世紀九十年代，在蘇格蘭一個名叫哈密爾頓的小鎮(zhèn)生活，她和朋友們9點前必須回家，過了九點就會有警車把他們送回家。她說道，“我覺得我們像是受到了迫害，我才13歲，但這樣會讓我覺得自己好像犯了什么錯似的?！?/p>

科尼什鎮(zhèn)的年輕人也會有同感，因為那里也頒布了宵禁條例，該條例規(guī)定16歲以下的青年如在晚9點后外出，警察和政府官員有權加以阻攔。

許多家長都贊同代號為“晚安行動”的計劃，如果他們的孩子出現(xiàn)上述問題，則會有警察負責將孩子安全送回家；而那些未簽署同意書的家庭，一旦發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的孩子很晚外出，那么他們的家長以及法定監(jiān)護人將會受到懲罰。

與此同時，英國民政廳要求試行該項計劃的城鎮(zhèn)員隨時匯報該計劃的進展狀況。如取得成效，其他城市也將效仿此舉。據(jù)悉，此項提議將在暑期實施并獲得了多數(shù)家庭的贊同。然而，也有兒童維權專家提出宵禁條例會讓孩子們關系疏遠，同時也會拉大孩子與大人間的代溝。

The police and council preferred to call it a "child safety initiative", but youngsters like Anna Allan knew it simply as a curfew. Growing up in the Scottish town of Hamilton in the late 1990s, Anna and her friends had to be indoors by 9pm or risk being ordered into the back of a police car and delivered home. Hanging out with friends as dusk fell in the summer was in effect banned. "We felt as if we were being persecuted," she said. "I was 13 and made to feel like I was a criminal."

Later this month young people in a Cornish town may feel the same. A unique curfew scheme is being launched under which all youngsters aged under 16 out after 9pm will be stopped by police and council officials, some equipped with headcams to collect evidence.

The children of parents who sign up to the scheme, codenamed Operation Goodnight, can be taken home. And if they do not sign up but their children are caught out late, families will face action from social services and housing authorities.

The Home Office has asked officials in Redruth to keep it informed about the scheme and if it is successful, other towns may set up their own curfews.

Many householders in Redruth, where the scheme will run during the summer holidays, welcome the initiative, but children's rights experts warn curfews will alienate youngsters and create a worrying gap between children and the adults who ought to take responsibility for them.

Stuart Waiton, the director of the campaign group Youth Generation Issues, has studied the Hamilton curfew. He said such schemes were always billed as helping parents, but actually helped undermine their authority. "Parents, not the state, should decide at what time children come in."

The Hamilton scheme petered out. But since 2001, councils and police have been entitled to apply to the home secretary to set up curfew zones. None has done so. Police forces have instead introduced "dispersal zones" under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. This allows groups of two or more to be moved on. More than 1,000 zones were set up between 2004 and 2006. But studies suggest the zones often simply displace the problem. In Leeds, one area that bordered a dispersal zone saw crime rise by 148%.

Residents are also often disappointed when the zones, which can run for a maximum of six months at a time, are wound up. This is what happened in Redruth. Police did not want to go through the "weighty" process of applying to the home secretary for an official curfew zone, so launched their "voluntary" scheme.

Angela Gunn, who has a 12-year-old son, said: "I don't mind if I send my lad to the shops to get a pint of milk and he gets stopped. We do have problems with anti-social behaviour and anything that helps has to be a good thing."