Short-fused Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has formally decreed that all children below the age of 12 must be off the streets by 8:30 p.m. on school nights, and 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, saying, "It brings a level of responsibility and accountability to our streets and in our homes."

The hardline measure is though to be a direct response to increases in organized-child-crime in the region, with several gangland cream pie massacres having dominated the headlines in recent months. [Tribune, image via Paramount]