Lawmakers Target Teen Behavior to Check Crime but Critics Say Actions, from Prom Cops to Curfews, Show Government Is Becoming a Parent

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Sweet 16 isn't quite so sweet anymore.

In Washington, legislators talk of adolescents as "super predators" as they debate bills on youth violence. A majority of Americans tell pollsters they don't think today's teens will make the US a better place. And around the country, local officials pass punitive laws curbing teenagers' movements and actions: Violating a teen curfew in Fillmore, Calif., for instance, can now cost a parent $2,500.

The moves represent a growing trend by government at all levels to pass laws and take other action to control the behavior of American youths on a scale unseen in decades. Much of it is driven by public concern about growing …