DC enforces youth summer curfew

Washington, D.C., has begun enforcing a summer curfew for all people under the age of 17 in an effort to control crime in the district.

The curfew, which went into effect Monday, bans youths from streets, vehicles, outdoor public areas, and any establishment in the city between 12:01 a.m. and 6 a.m., seven days a week.

The city began enforcing a curfew pilot program in September, requiring minors to be home by 12:01 a.m. on weekends and 11 p.m. on weeknights. The summer curfew allows minors to be out for an extra hour on weeknights during the months of July and August.

“Know where your children are at 12:01 a.m.,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said on Get Up DC last week. “We want to make sure that those kids that are in need, we want to find safe spaces for them, but more importantly, the young people who are out after hours, engaged in the various activities, or the criminal activities, we have a place for them.”

“But for those who are not engaged in those spaces and are out after the curfew hours, we will transport them to one of our DYRS facilities across our seven districts to ensure that a parent can come and pick that child up and take him or her back home to a safe location,” she added.

Minors who break the curfew law may be ordered to perform up to 25 hours of community service. A parent or guardian who “knowingly permits or by insufficient control allows” their child to violate curfew is also subject to community service or a fine of up to $500.

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Minors are exempt from curfew if they are accompanied by or running an errand for a parent or guardian, riding in a vehicle involved in interstate travel, returning home from a job as well as attending a school, religious, or recreational activity, or exercising their First Amendment rights.

Since the curfew enforcement began in September, D.C. police have transferred a total of 71 youths to the Department of Youth and Rehabilitation services for curfew violations, according to city data. Violent crime in the nation’s capital is down by 29% from last year, while total crime has decreased by 17%.