D.C. Council gives initial approval to permanent curfew, but does not extend emergency powers

The D.C. Council approved a bill that would establish a permanent juvenile curfew, but delayed a vote on an emergency order to keep the enhanced curfew authority in place through the spring and summer.

The council supported the permanent juvenile curfew in an 8-5 vote on Tuesday.

Under the proposal, police could set up specialized curfew zones to prevent youths from swarming popular parts of town in what are known as teen takeovers.

Large groups of minors who are caught in the designated zones — such as in the Wharf, Chinatown and the U Street Corridor — will be ordered to disperse. Youths who don’t leave could be detained and held at the city’s juvenile jail until a parent picks them up.

Amendments to the permanent proposal introduced by Council member Doni Crawford, at-large independent, push back the curfew start time from 11 p.m. to midnight on weekends and throughout the summer.

Metropolitan Police also cannot stop and question individual teens or small groups of youths, according to the bill’s text, and authorities must give more advanced notice about future curfew zones. 

Curfew zones would still go into effect at 8 p.m., just as they do under the emergency curfew.

Further, the city must organize a special event for teens and youths whenever a curfew zone is declared.

“Enforcement alone does not address the underlying conditions driving these gatherings,” Ms. Crawford said. “If we are telling young people where they cannot be, we should simultaneously be a part of creating spaces where they can be.”

But the permanent curfew needs a second council vote, expected on May 5, and congressional approval before it can take effect. The lengthy lawmaking process could result in the District not having a juvenile curfew in place for weeks or even months.

That means the District is at risk of witnessing more wild teen takeovers during the warmer months after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s emergency curfew expires next week.

Ms. Bowser, who has derided the council for being squishy about codifying an enhanced curfew, expressed her dissatisfaction toward lawmakers for not renewing the emergency measure.

“While I am pleased that the Council advanced the permanent juvenile curfew legislation, their continued inaction on extending the juvenile curfew through the spring and summer leaves our city without a critical tool for keeping our neighborhoods safe and free from disorderly behavior,” she posted on X. 

“Doing nothing is not an option. The community is expecting their government — and we have a responsibility to our residents, businesses, and young people — to take action,” the mayor wrote.

Teen takeovers

Rowdy hordes of teenagers have made a ritual out of gathering in the Navy Yard. 

Earlier this month, youths who were denied entry to a city-run event for teens near Nationals Park took to brawling in the streets instead.

Metropolitan Police said they arrested eight minors in different melees on charges of disturbing the peace by fighting and assaulting police officers.

In March, authorities said juveniles ran roughshod through the Navy Yard after a 200-teen takeover consumed the neighborhood.

Police arrested a handful of youths for robberies, assaults and firing a gun amid the chaos.

And during Halloween weekend last fall, the District made national headlines after a massive teen scrum erupted near a small park along M Street Southeast.

Bystanders recorded National Guard troops trying to separate pugilistic youths, who then darted into traffic to evade law enforcement.

The Halloween incident came after the council allowed the emergency curfew to lapse earlier in October. 

Council members reupped the temporary order through April 15, but have shown little willingness to revive it once again. 

“I’ll be working with my colleagues and the mayor and the community over the next two weeks to try to ensure we have the votes we need to pass the emergency, so that we don’t have this gap in the law, especially in the spring and summer months,” said Council member Brooke Pinto, who chairs the Public Safety Committee.