The D.C. Council gave final approval for a permanent youth curfew but did not reinstate an emergency curfew for the upcoming summer months.
The council passed the measure Tuesday in an 8-5 vote. It would allow the Metropolitan Police to establish curfew zones by forbidding large groups of youths from gathering in popular parts of town beginning at 8 p.m.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and police leaders have argued the zones are crucial to thwarting teen takeovers — chaotic gatherings coordinated over social media that often devolve into street brawls, robberies and occasional shootings.
The Navy Yard neighborhood is commonly favored by youths, along with the U Street Corridor, Chinatown and the Wharf.
The bill says the citywide curfew will run from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. from September through June, and from midnight to 6 a.m. in July and August.
Police are barred from stopping individual teens or small groups of youths for questioning, and officials must provide advanced notice about future curfew zones.
Amendments to curfew legislation include a provision that would sunset the curfew zones in 2028 and another that would bar children 17 and younger from being detained at the city’s juvenile jail if caught inside a zone.
The bill needs Ms. Bowser’s signature to become law. It also must undergo a 30-day congressional review before it can take effect.
The council did not renew a 90-day emergency order for the curfew zones last month, and Ms. Bowser’s stopgap order to revive the curfew zones, which lasted two weeks, expired Friday.
D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 Democrat and chair of the Public Safety Committee, said she pulled her legislation for the emergency curfew zones during Tuesday’s meeting because it lacked the nine votes needed to pass.
“I’ll be working with my colleagues, the mayor and the community over the next few weeks to try to ensure we have the votes we need to pass the emergency order so we don’t have the gap in the law during the spring and summer months,” Ms. Pinto said after the vote.
Ms. Bowser, a Democrat, expressed disappointment with the council’s decision.
“Until the council takes up and passes legislation to reinstate curfew zones, the District is left without one of the few tools we have for addressing disruptive and dangerous gatherings,” Ms. Bowser said in a statement.
“We have found the curfew zones to be effective, allowing us to address issues before a dangerous situation arises, and we should all want that,” she said. “Right now, we are working on a full calendar of events for young people throughout the summer, but those events are one part our responsibility; a sensible and effective curfew that addresses dangerous trends is another part of our responsibility.”
Teen takeovers have caused problems for the city, particularly at Navy Yard. Authorities arrested eight minors last month after they were accused of fighting among themselves and police officers during a takeover just blocks away from Nationals Park.
In March, police said they nabbed multiple youths on robbery, assault and weapons charges following a 200-teen takeover in the neighborhood.
And the District made national headlines after a Halloween melee erupted in the Navy Yard in which National Guard troops were seen trying to break up fighting youths.
