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As of Friday, Sept. 1, the "Juvenile Curfew Enforcement Pilot" took effect in the District as officials keep working to curtail the rash of violence that has placed DC in 2023.
The curfew will be in effect from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Sundays through Thursdays, and 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends.
"The vast majority of our young people are doing the right thing – they are back in school, they are involved in extracurriculars, and in the evenings and at night, they are where they need to be – supervised and safe," Mayor Muriel Bowser announced.
"But we need that to be true for all of our young people, and if we have kids and teenagers who are not in safe situations, we need to connect with those families."
The curfew will allow the Metropolitan Police Department to focus on seven areas with the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, which will monitor. any offenders until they can be reconnected with a parent or guardian the following morning.
Districts included in the curfew include:
- District 1: Chinatown and Navy Yard;
- District 3: U Street area;
- District 3: Howard University/Banneker;
- District 4: 14th Street between Otis and Spring Road, NW;
- District 4: 4000 Georgia Avenue, NW;
- District 6: 4400-4600 Benning Rd, SE;
- District 7: 1300 Congress Street, SE.
“I’ve shared before that when I was young, my father used to tell me: there’s nothing good in the street after 11 o’clock," Bowser added. "We want our kids home, we want them safe, and if they’re not – we want families working with us to get their kids the help that they need.”
Officials said that with the curfew enacted as of Friday night, it will free up police to return to patrol during what were described as "critical hours" overnight, when crime has been rampant.
Between January and June, arrests of juveniles was up 17 percent over 2022, with arrests steadily increasing between April, May, and June.
"No group is at higher risk of harm than youth engaging in the most risky and dangerous criminal activity,” Lindsey Appiah, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, said.
“Our goal is to engage with young people and their families before that happens and to provide them with the kinds of interventions that we know help."
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