A curfew for young people in the National Harbor entertainment district was put into effect Friday by officials with Prince George’s County, Maryland, to help control crime along the waterfront.
Visitors to National Harbor 16 years and younger will need to be with their parents or a parentally approved chaperone over 21 years old from 5 p.m. until 6 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The curfew, which is planned to last 30 days, was implemented following chaos last weekend at National Harbor caused by rowdy youths. Similar restrictions took effect there in 2020 during COVID and in 2022.
Homicides dropped 71% during the 2022 curfew, per a release from the county.
“Last weekend we saw an upward estimate of about 800 juveniles converge on National Harbor.… They were there to be disorderly, fighting, shoplifting, smoking cannabis, being confrontational with business owners and residents and law enforcement,” Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz said at a press conference Thursday.
In an executive order, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks detailed the disruption, noting reports of fights, people stealing from the CVS and other stores, the blocking of roadways and the early closure of several businesses.
The executive order allowing the curfew stipulates that parents or guardians who knowingly let a minor break the curfew will be subject to a fine of as much as $250 as well as the costs of a county employee to watch their child after he or she is detained.
“National Harbor is not a day care or a playground, and constant monitoring of the county’s youth is not the job of the government. … Parents must take an active role in keeping their children occupied with constructive activities,” county officials wrote on a webpage dedicated to the curfew.
The fine and secondary cost also apply to any operators or vendors in National Harbor who knowingly let minors break the curfew.
In addition to action by Ms. Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County Council produced a bill that will let business owners ask the PGPD to create juvenile curfew zones. It has been approved by the council’s Committee of the Whole and could be voted on as soon as next week, according to WTOP-FM.
If passed into law, such curfew zones would ban people 17 and under in applicable areas from 11:59 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights until 5 a.m. the next day.
“We really need to get a handle on these teenagers — for the most part — who are just running wild in commercial areas. We cannot let these young people who are out of control run out our commercial business,” Prince George’s County Council Chairwoman Jolene Ivey told WTOP.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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