Leaders in Prince George’s County are fast-tracking a proposed youth curfew law after a crowd of teens fought and vandalized property in National Harbor.
Police were called to National Harbor on Saturday night as hundreds of young people gathered. Video shared with News4 captured the violence and noise. News4 blurred the footage to protect the identities of underage people involved.
County leaders already were considering new curfew legislation. They said they want to get ahead of potential trouble before the start of summer. Curfews could start much earlier in some areas, and parents could face fines.
“I believe in a curfew, at least until they can get some kind of control over it,” one resident said. Parents are responsible for their kids.”
Here’s what the Prince George’s County curfew law would do
The legislation would allow businesses to request that police set up commercial curfew zones. Unaccompanied minors could be forced to stay away from business areas such as National Harbor as early as 5 p.m. Under current law, unsupervised teens under 18 have to be in by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Prince George’s County Council Member Ed Burroughs shared stories of hotel rooms full of unaccompanied teens.
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“We have parents who are renting out entire suites for their children, 14, 15 years old, at the harbor at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., unsupervised, with alcohol in the room,” he said.
If the bill passes, parents could face fines for allowing their teens to break curfew. Fines would be:
- $50 for a first offense
- $100 for a second offense
- $250 for a third offense
They also could be forced to help cover the costs of enforcing the law.
“Under this bill, for every hour we have a county government employee wait with your child, we’re going to fine you that employee’s salary,” Burroughs said.
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There have been curfews at National Harbor before. In 2020, an unaccompanied teen curfew was enforced from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Leaders said they wanted to crack down on unruly teens and the spread of COVID-19.
The legislation has widespread support on the council. Being emergency legislation, it would go into effect right away.
