Juvenile Curfew Goes into Effect Tonight
Dear Prince Georgians:
I want to remind everyone that Prince George’s County is enforcing a 30-day curfew for youth ages 16 and under beginning today, September 9, at 11:59 PM. This measure is being put in place to protect our children and engage parents and family members in their safety and wellbeing as we continue to see a rise in violent crime, especially among juveniles.
Youth need to be at home on weeknights (Sunday-Thursday) from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM and on weekends (Friday and Saturday) from 11:59 PM to 5:00 AM. Our police officers are focused on education first. If youth are in public spaces during curfew hours, police will educate them on the curfew and tell them to go home, and notify a parent/guardian.
If a youth is found in violation of the curfew again, a parent/guardian is notified. Officers will remain with the youth for up to approximately 2 hours while trying to contact a parent/guardian. If a parent/guardian cannot be located, the youth will be transferred to the Department of Social Services for further assistance.
Civil penalties will apply to parents and operators of businesses open to the public. The first violation will result in a written notice and warning. Subsequent violations will result in civil fines, including $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense, and $250 for third and subsequent offenses.
There are some exceptions to the curfew, including the following:
- Youth is accompanied by a parent/guardian or authorized adult
- Youth is on an errand as direct by a parent until 12:30am
- Youth is exercising First Amendment rights
- Youth is returning home within one hour and on a direct route from school, religious or voluntary association activity, or public entertainment like a movie, play or sporting event
- Youth is at or heading to/from a place of employment
- With parent consent, youth is engaged in interstate travel
We know that a curfew will not end violence. This is just one new tool that we are using in our crime prevention efforts. We want to reach and engage parents in a different way, and get them to be better partners in supporting our children. We also need to dig a little deeper and get to the root cause of what is going on with some of our kids. This 30-day curfew will help us accomplish both of those goals.
Ultimately, the point of this is to protect our kids. There’s an African Proverb that says, “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” At this point, we need the village to step in. We need everyone at the table embracing these kids, and ultimately holding them accountable.
During this 30-day curfew, we are asking our village to please help us keep our children safe. Our youth are too precious to continue losing to violence. We need everybody working together to protect them.
Yours in service,
Angela Alsobrooks
Prince George’s County Executive
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