Montgomery County lawmakers are considering a bill prohibiting loitering and “prowling” — a measure some are touting as an alternative to the proposed youth curfew. Sponsored by Councilmen George Leventhal, D-at large, and Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville, the measure would prohibit anyone from being in public “at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding persons under circumstances that warrant a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern.”
It is modeled after a similar law in Georgia and is identical to a Florida law, said Andrews, who has been a vocal opponent of the curfew. Both laws have been upheld in court.
Both Andrews and Leventhal said they see the loitering bill as a replacement for the youth curfew County Executive Ike Leggett proposed in July. Under that legislation, it would be a civil offense for youth under 18 to be in public after 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday nights or after midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. If youth ignore police officers’ instructions to go home, they can be issued fines of up to $100.
Like the curfew, the new bill requires police to give loiterers a chance to explain their actions. Violations — which are misdemeanors — only occur after a police officer’s warnings.
But unlike the curfew, it can be enforced at any time of the day and does not apply to a specific age group, addressing Andrews’ and other curfew critics’ concerns that the curfew doesn’t target the majority of crimes in the county, or even the majority of youth crime.
About 11 percent of the crimes committed by youth under age 22 occurred between midnight and 6 a.m. last year, according to data Police Chief Thomas Manger gave members of the County Council.
The measure allows police to take action before a crime has actually occurred, said Leventhal, while not penalizing youth who seem to be doing nothing wrong.
But the loitering bill doesn’t go far enough, said Councilman Craig Rice, D-Germantown, and should be implemented with the curfew. Though the bill addresses concerns about what power police have to prevent crimes from occurring, it doesn’t keep kids safe.
“I’m very concerned what kind of a message we send if we say to kids, ‘It is OK for you to be out there at 2 in the morning,'” said Rice, a vocal advocate of the curfew. “[The curfew]’s designed to make sure that we are assisting parents to make sure that kids stay in.”
According to Leggett, the loitering bill is no match for his curfew. It’s overly broad and it could lead to racial profiling, he said.
“Curfews have been found to work fairly well,” he said. “This approach I think the jury’s still out on.”
Manger declined to comment.
