National Harbor teen curfew goes into effect Friday, county officials say
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. - Prince George’s County Executive Anglea Alsobrooks announced that a teen curfew will officially go into effect this Friday.
The order goes into effect at 5 p.m. on April 26 and requires anyone 16 years old and younger to be supervised by an adult between the hours of 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. while they are at National Harbor on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Under the order, not only will juveniles without supervision be removed from the property during those times, their parents or guardians could also face a fine of up to $250.
Parents could also face additional fines if their child gets kicked off of the property and they aren’t picked up within an hour. That cost would be the hourly wage of the Prince George’s County employee assigned to stay with the child, plus the cost of their benefits.
"It’s unacceptable for a parent to refuse to pick up their child once they’re obtained by law enforcement. That’s unacceptable, so we’re going to hold parents accountable," Councilmember Edward Burroughs, who claims this has been a long-standing issue at the Harbor and pushed to turn his curfew bill into emergency legislation.
The emergency order was quickly passed through in the wake of a chaotic weekend where hundreds of teens were seen fighting and causing disturbances at National Harbor.
The county says it has been working with police, community partners and businesses for months as concerns about large groups of juveniles continued to grow.
"We’ve seen an uptick in young people by the hundreds – gathered unsupervised and engaged in not the most productive behavior," Burroughs told FOX 5 following the massive weekend gathering. "You have 14-year-olds roaming the Harbor at 2 a.m., unsupervised."
County officials say businesses in the area have been vandalized and robbed, and residents and visitors have been negatively impacted by the wild gatherings.
"The safety and well-being of our residents, visitors, and businesses at National
Harbor are of the utmost importance," Alsobrooks said. "The implementation of a juvenile curfew is a necessary step to address the recent incidents of unruly behavior and ensure public safety."
The current order is just a temporary measure but legislation is currently before the County Council will allow commercial property owners the ability to request zones within the County to have a more restrictive juvenile curfew.
When this bill passes and National Harbor applies to have a curfew zone in effect, it will replace the executive order curfew.
"We thank the County Executive for putting this emergency measure in place as the Council’s curfew bill proceeds through the legislative process. That legislation is not specific to National Harbor and will cover commercial areas in the county where a curfew is needed and approved by the Police Chief," said Council Chair Jolene Ivey (District 5). "We want to make sure we’re in partnership with the business community, with law enforcement, and the residents of our county who have all been strong supporters of these measures."
The county says they are also working with Prince George’s County police on an enhanced safety plan for the area.