A county in Maryland enforces youth curfew

• The curfew will be strictly enforced beginning next weekend and lasting at least 30 days.
• Existing Maryland law allows for the curfew.
• A 15-year-old from Washington, D.C., who was killed in a shooting at a convenience store.

Officials in a Maryland county near the nation’s capital that has experienced its deadliest month in decades say they will strictly enforce a curfew to keep teens off the streets at night.

According to WTOP-FM, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks made the announcement Monday, following a Labor Day weekend in which at least four people were killed by gun violence in the county, including a 15-year-old from Washington, D.C., who was killed in a shooting at a convenience store Saturday night. Another 15-year-old was critically injured in the same shooting, and a baby girl who was shot in an apartment in Glenn Dale remains hospitalized.

In the month of August alone, county police investigated 24 murders.

Alsobrooks stated that the curfew will be strictly enforced beginning next weekend and lasting at least 30 days. Teens under the age of 17 must stay off the streets between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Sundays through Thursdays, and between 11:59 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Existing Maryland law allows for the curfew.

During a news conference, Alsobrooks cited a “eye-popping” 430 juvenile arrests this year, nearly doubling the number from last year.

“At this point, these kids don’t just need a hug, they need to be held accountable,” Alsobrooks said. “I know it’s not a popular thing to say, but it’s a fair question: Where are their parents? Where are the aunties, where are the uncles and other family members who are responsible for them?”

The last time the youth curfew was strictly enforced was in 1995, but Alsobrooks believes that current circumstances warrant its reinstatement.

Despite the spike in August killings, homicides in the county are down 15% from last year, according to county data.

“But the truth of the matter is, we are still seeing concerning levels of crime” including a spike in carjackings often carried out by what she called “armed and dangerous children.”

According to Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz, 55 of the 84 juveniles arrested for carjacking offences this year had prior arrests, and 34 had prior arrests for a previous violent crime or a gun offence. He described the number of juveniles arrested on multiple occasions as “deeply troubling.”

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