Can Curfews Be Effective in Curbing Violence?

curfew
Photo credit Graffiti on a sidewalk mocking curfews in place as a result of ongoing protests/AP Photo

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As protest violence continued Monday evening, Buffalo has made the move to impose a curfew each evening from 8pm to 5am until Monday morning.

As the curfew took hold Tuesday evening in the city, remaining protesters were ushered out of Niagara Square and ultimately left voluntarily.

But can curfews be effective in reducing the violence?

Rivera says the curfew is not the only tool law enforcement has. "Our politicians need to get together, our community based officers need to get together and pool our resources and if we need to do community outreach and meetings to explain why curfews are in place and what they're trying to avoid, we need to do that," says Rivera.