(NewsNation) — Officials in one Maryland county passed emergency legislation allowing businesses to request police designate and enforce juvenile curfew zones.
Members of a committee on Prince George’s County Council passed this legislation Tuesday.
Once juvenile curfew zones are established, the Washington Post reports, those 17 years old or younger will be banned from them starting at 11:59 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights until 5 a.m. On other nights, the newspaper writes, the ban will begin at 10 p.m. Parents or guardians of kids or teens who don’t follow the curfew can be fined.
The bill passed at a committee meeting Tuesday and will be up for a public hearing and final vote next week, the Post wrote.
On Thursday, though, Angela Alsobrooks, the executive for Prince George’s County, said there will be a youth curfew at National Harbor, a local entertainment and shopping district. This curfew, which goes into effect at 5 p.m. Friday, follows a violent brawl there over the weekend.
Sources in Prince George’s County familiar with the ongoing police investigation into the incident shared a video with NewsNation showing 800 or so teens taking over the shopping district.
Video footage shows fights breaking out while, according to police, the teens were smoking marijuana. In addition, there were reports of flash mob-style shoplifting that led to several arrests.
“Here’s the simple truth. If visitors do not feel safe coming to the National Harbor, then these businesses, their employees, our state and our county will suffer,” Alsobrooks said.
Curfews in other areas
Other municipalities have recently made similar moves to Prince George’s County.
Governing wrote that more than a dozen cities or counties reinstated or enforced juvenile curfews in 2023, including Washington, D.C.; Memphis, Tennessee; New Smyrna Beach, Florida; Sea Isle City, New Jersey and Fulton County, Georgia.
In Newark, New Jersey’s most populous city, Mayor Ras Baraka announced a new curfew will begin on May 3 and be in effect on weekends during the school year, WABC reported Thursday. That curfew will be seven days a week when school is not in session.
Under the curfew, minors would not be allowed to be more than 100 yards from their home unless they are with an adult or involved in a city, church or organization-involved activity from the hours of 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
“We have to have the holistic response as our kids have been victimized by adults who convinced them to do crime or being victimized by adults who victimized them in crime,” Baraka was quoted by WABC as saying.
Meanwhile, Richmond, Virginia, launched an 11 p.m. curfew for those under 17 this month, according to NewsNation’s local affiliate WRIC.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said at a Monday press briefing that the community is responsible for protecting its children and urged parents to enforce the new rule.
“We need you to step your game up,” Stoney said. “And for those parents who do not have the ability to do that, we as a community at large are here to help.”
Parents are primarily responsible for enforcing curfew rules, WRIC wrote, but law enforcement will intervene if they determine it’s necessary.
The curfew in Richmond comes after a number of shootings between March 31 and April 14 in the area. Eight people were shot and killed in this time period, including one 14-year-old and three 16-year-olds, WRIC said.
Research has shown, though, that youth curfews do not necessarily prevent crime or prevent victimization.
When asked about these studies by NewsNation, officials in Prince George’s County said the new curfew is just one action they’re implementing to reduce violence.
“Nobody’s saying that a curfew cures crime. There’s no one strategy that we use that cures all of crime,” Alsobrooks said. “It’s one tool. And I can tell you, that I think all of us standing here from the legislators, (police) chief … none of us believe that doing nothing is an option.”
