A Maryland county located just outside Washington, D.C., will impose a curfew for residents under the age of 17 for the next month, marking the county’s latest efforts to crack down on rising crime rates among juveniles.
Juveniles in Prince George’s County must be home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Sundays through Thursdays and between midnight and 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, according to the curfew announced Monday. The curfew is the first of its kind in almost three decades for the county and comes in response to a spike in juvenile crime rates, which contributed to the single deadliest month the county has recorded.
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“I’m just going to put it very bluntly: Somebody has got to take responsibility for these armed and dangerous children. And it’s not just the police and not just the government,” County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said during a press conference on Monday. “We have children who are out in our communities at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. committing these crimes. No summer job or government program is going to help that.”
The curfew will be enforced through a local ordinance passed in November 1995 that allows law enforcement to take teenagers into custody or issue fines if minors repeatedly violate the law. Some exceptions exist, including if a juvenile is with a parent, is out late because of employment, or is married.
Roughly 430 juveniles have been arrested in Prince George’s County this year, nearly double the number reported by this time last year, according to Alsobrooks. Eighty-four of those arrested were charged in relation to carjackings, with about 65% having a previous record.
August was also the county’s deadliest month ever recorded, Alsobrooks said, with the police department investigating 24 murders. Other offenses, such as nonfatal shootings and illegal gun possession, are also up.
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“I know this isn’t the popular thing to say, but the truth of the matter is, it’s a fair question: Where are their parents? Where are the aunties? Where are the uncles and other family members who are responsible for them?” Alsobrooks said.
The curfew is scheduled to remain in effect for the month of September, and it’s unclear whether the county will take steps to extend it beyond that date.
