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Debate over juvenile curfew intensifies as residents and experts clash
Summary
Supporters say curfew zones gave police a temporary tool to break up dangerous mass gatherings; opponents — including the Public Defender Service and dozens of youth witnesses — warn a permanent expansion would increase police contacts with young people and disproportionately harm Black and Brown youth.
Councilmembers and witnesses debated the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act (B26‑461) at length during the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety's Dec. 4 hearing. The bill would expand some age limits, allow designated curfew zones with earlier hours and make temporary emergency provisions permanent in certain forms. Chair Brooke Pinto and the executive argued the measure gives local leaders a preventive tool for specific zones where large, trouble‑prone gatherings were planned.
Katerina Seminova of the Public Defender Service recommended against the expansion, saying the proposed law would allow stops of any young person after a set hour simply to confirm whether a legal defense applies. “The Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act gives extensive unchecked authority to the mayor and the chief of police to criminalize and prohibit otherwise lawful gatherings by youth,” she told the committee. ACLU, civil‑liberties advocates and dozens of young witnesses urged investment in late‑night programs, school‑based mental health and safe transportation rather than broader curfew powers. Youth leaders described being stopped or pepper‑sprayed while returning from school, work or after‑school activities and said targeted services and teen centers would be more effective.
Deputy Mayor Lindsay Appiah said curfew zones had been declared after social‑media intelligence and community tips identified planned “takeovers” in areas such as Navy Yard and U Street; she said those targeted, temporary zones were designed to reduce imminent risks. Appiah added that the executive has used emergency orders and that MPD conducted outreach to discourage large gatherings before they occurred. Committee members asked for data on how many youths were transported or detained under emergency orders. Officials said 14 youths were taken to the youth services center during one U Street intervention and released to parents the same night. The council will continue to weigh civil‑liberties concerns against public‑safety aims as it considers whether to make emergency curfew authorities permanent.
