Gang friction in downtown Silver Spring led County Executive Ike Leggett to propose a curfew for youths under 18, county officials say. Two gangs were meeting in Silver Spring, gearing up for a fight the weekend of July 4. As soon as police forced the crowd to disperse, members simply regrouped elsewhere, said county Police Chief Thomas Manger. The incident led to the stabbing of a young woman involved with one of the gangs.
A curfew would have let police arrest those under 18 at midnight, although most of the gang members were older and the group began gathering earlier at night, he said.
| Public hearing on the curfew |
| When: Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. |
| Where: County Council’s Third Floor Hearing Room |
| 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville |
The curfew would penalize anyone under age 18 caught in a public place after 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday nights or after midnight Friday and Saturday nights.
“I get that there’s some sense of urgency to this,” said County Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large, a member of the Public Safety Committee. But, “It’s not a silver bullet.”
Downtown Silver Spring has become a major gathering point for the county’s youth, as they hang out outside the shops and around Veterans Plaza at the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Avenue. But incidents like the one a few weeks ago have prompted police to station extra officers in the area — and the problems aren’t new.
Last July, 15 people in their teens and early 20s were arrested after harassing pedestrians around 7 p.m. on a weekday. One person in the group slammed a man to the ground and broke his face.
Still, the latest crime data shows that juvenile arrests in Montgomery County were down 2.5 percent last year, and gang activity is the lowest it’s been in nearly a decade.
The curfew “came out of nowhere,” said Councilman Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda, at a meeting of the council’s Public Safety Committee. “What is it we’re trying to address?”
Manger said the proposal was based on anecdotal evidence, such as the Silver Spring incident.
“The county executive didn’t wait for somebody to do a study and get numbers,” said Leggett spokesman Patrick Lacefield.
Manger also pointed to the success of curfews in Prince George’s County and the District, but Berliner was not convinced.
“Montgomery County is not Prince George’s County. Montgomery County is not the District of Columbia. And by God, I’m proud of it.”
On Tuesday, the County Council will hold a public hearing on the issue.
The board of the Indian Spring Citizens Association, near downtown Silver Spring, supports “the idea of a curfew,” said President Jill Ortman-Fouse.
“You’re only a teen for a few years,” she said. “Let’s try to keep them alive.”
By contrast, Seth Grimes, former president of the Old Town Residents’ Association in Takoma Park and the father of a 16-year-old, said the worst incidents he’s heard of occurred in broad daylight or involved people over age 18.
“I would compare creating a curfew with essentially picking a fight with kids who are otherwise not creating problems,” he said.
