Mayor Anthony Williams has extended an early juvenile curfew for another month, calling the measure a tool to protect young people and fight crime.
Since the new curfew began on Aug. 1, there have been no reports of serious assaults against juveniles 16 years old and younger, and arrests for that age group during curfew hours has decreased 46 percent, said Capt. Burt A. Henry of the Youth and Preventative Services Department.
“That’s a tell-tale sign that it’s been pretty successful,” Henry said.
The mayor moved the curfew for children 16 and under from midnight to 10 p.m. as part of the crime emergency that the District has been under since the city suffered 13 murders in 11 days of July and saw a spike in violent crime among juveniles. The mayor announced the extension as D.C. schools started back up this week.
“I hope that with the start of the school year, parents will continue to urge that their children participate in organized, safe activities when they are not in school,” Williams said.
Ronald Moten, co-founder of Peaceoholics, said he supports the earlier curfew on school nights but the district should provide more safe activities for 15- and 16-year-olds on the weekends.
“We can’t let children run wild in the streets, but we can’t be a locked-down city,” Moten.
So far, D.C. police have picked up 1,454 curfew violators, 959 of which were caught between the new hours of 10 p.m. and midnight. During the first Saturday, police picked up 141 curfew violators.
The children are taken to two center, from which their parents or guardians take them home. If not picked up by 6 a.m., the juvenile is handed over to the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency. Juveniles age 12 and younger who are picked up on curfew violations are immediately turned over to the CFSA.
About two dozen juveniles have been repeat offenders and face harsher punishment.
The new curfew will continue until Sept. 28, Williams said.
