After nearly two dozen kids were arrested around the District for being disorderly and launching fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend, D.C.鈥檚 mayor has signed a law that expands curfews for young people.
Following approval by the D.C. Council, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the expanded curfew into law Monday.
“I feel very strongly that we need the juvenile curfew law,” she said to reporters.
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The new summer curfew for young people will now start nightly at 11 p.m. across the District. That鈥檚 an hour earlier than the previous youth curfew.
It will now also apply to 17-year-olds, instead of just kids who are 16 and younger.
Police will also be allowed to designate special curfew zones that begin at 8 p.m.
鈥淚t’s modeled on what has worked with us with targeted drug enforcement zones,鈥� Bowser said during a press briefing.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, around 20 teenage boys, including a 12-year-old, were arrested for possessing or shooting off fireworks or other offenses, . Most of the arrests were at Navy Yard or along the U Street corridor.
It’s the latest in a string of recent incidents involving groups of teens committing crimes in the D.C. area.
‘Our job is to prosecute crime’
While the new law can be used by police to clear the streets of young people, the mayor said she hopes more parents get involved.
鈥淓verybody is interested in more parental accountability,” Bowser said. “You know the value of saying to a parent, ‘You should know where your kid is and that you’re responsible for their negative actions.’鈥�
Educators, mental health processionals, prosecutors and law enforcement also talked about addressing youth crime Tuesday during D.C.’s 15th annual Anti-Violence Youth Summit at Catholic University.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working the Metropolitan Police Department and Chief Pamela Smith to try to do whatever we can to break up those gangs, I know they started with a curfew鈥� said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. 鈥淢ake no mistake, I will be prosecuting those young people if they鈥檙e within the age group that I can prosecute them.鈥�
The point of the anti-violence summit was to introduce young people to activities and other groups they can join to avoid crossing paths with criminal groups.
鈥淥ur job is to prosecute crime,鈥� Pirro said at the summit. 鈥淏ut [also] to protect young people who will inevitably be confronted with drugs and gangs and all the bullying, all the narcotics, fentanyl now that we鈥檙e seeing too much of.”
This year’s summit was themed “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful” 鈥� the same title as an executive order President Donald Trump issued in March.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to break up the gangs and the crews and drug dealing and the gun running in this city and make it safe again,鈥� Pirro said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the president wants, and that鈥檚 what our mission is.”
草莓传媒’s Alan Etter contributed to this report.
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