D.C. Council members are hearing from members of the public and law enforcement on the effectiveness of last summer’s youth curfew zones and whether or not it should be put pack in place this winter.
Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, who chairs the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, assembled members of the public and local leaders for a roundtable Thursday on the subject.
The council voted to let the curfew zones expire Oct. 5, ending the summerlong emergency legislation that gave the police chief the authority to declare certain parts of the city as expanded juvenile curfew zones.
“Over the summer, during which seven juvenile curfew zones were declared, MPD reported that they had zero curfew violations and zero arrests,” Pinto said. “We also have to make sure that we have tools to prevent these limited instances of disruptive behavior before it occurs.”
Those zones banned anyone under 18 from gathering in groups of nine or more from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., with some exceptions.
D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith testified that since the curfew zones ended, her department is seeing more instances of young people gathering in large groups and causing problems. She cited two recent examples that happened on Oct. 13.
In one incident, she said a group of 100 or more teenagers and young adults gathered at the Navy Yard then went to Union Station, running into traffic along the way and damaging some road signs and trash cans. She said in that incident, a 14-year-old was struck by a car and received minor injuries.
In the other incident on the same day, Smith said a group of 60-70 teenagers ransacked the movie theater at Gallery Place, causing property damage and stealing about $200 worth of candy. She said one person was struck in the forehead by a bottle thrown by one of the teens. She did not say whether any arrests were made.
“As a result of this proactive effort, MPD did not cite any youth curfew violations in the zones during the active hours of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., nor were there any large gatherings,” Smith said, adding the curfew zones should be in place permanently.
She acknowledged some council members are against the curfews entirely.
“But that is not where we are right now,” Smith said.
“True public safety comes from addressing the root causes with robust youth programs and accountability,” Ward 8 Council member Trayon White said, adding that he saw curfews as a “short-term fix” and not a solution to youth delinquency.
“I’m not inclined to support a permanent application of this curfew,” Ward 5 Council member Zachary Parker said. “It was supposed to get us through the summer or winter while we work on something more long-term, maybe it does not exist yet.”
Pinto said the vast majority of city youth are doing well, and that should be encouraged. She said she supported funding to “create new recording studios for our kids, making sure that our D.C. public libraries have spaces for young people.”
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