DC Enforces Youth Curfew “To Keep Young People Out Of Trouble”
Earlier this year, the DC Policy Center, a non-partisan research and policy organization committed to promoting policies for a vibrant economy in the District of Columbia, reported that juveniles in the DC area have committed crimes at twice the national average. This alarming crime statistic underscores how the radical leftists running the nation’s capital have possibly lost some control over the youth.
In response to surging youth crime, DC officials enforced a summer curfew between 12:01 am local time and 6 am local time, seven days a week, for everyone under the age of 17.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the curfew went into effect on July 1 and runs through August 31.
“The Juvenile Curfew Act of 1995 (DC Code 2-1541 et. seq.) states that persons under the age of 17 cannot remain in or on a street, park or other outdoor public place, in a vehicle or on the premises of any establishment within the District of Columbia during curfew hours, unless they are involved in certain exempted activities,” Metropolitan Police wrote on their website.
A person under 17 violating the curfew could face upward of 25 hours of community service. Parents or guardians could also face up to $500 fine or be required to perform community service.
DC police wrote that there are several curfew exemptions for minors, including running an errand for a parent, returning from work, and being involved in an emergency (view here).
The curfew comes as “data show juveniles make up the majority of arrests in DC for crimes like robbery and carjacking,” CNN noted in a recent report, adding, “For carjackings, which nearly doubled in 2023, the average age of those arrested was 15 years old. Guns are used in about half of carjackings, police data show.”
Meanwhile, leftist corporate media outlets have been championing the latest FBI crime stats that show murder, rape, robbery, theft, and property crime are sliding in major cities. However, as we noted in “Admission Of Failure? Democratic Cities Stop Reporting Crime Stats To FBI,” some Democratic cities are just no longer reporting crimes to the FBI.
Do yourself a favor: Avoid Democratic cities where the failed progressive experiment has sparked crime and chaos.
If the socialist utopia of DC were actually working – which it never will – there would be no need for a youth curfew. Just north of DC, crime-ridden Baltimore also has a youth curfew.