July 25, 2006
Youngsters Beware -- New Curfew Kicks Off Monday
It was just last week that the D.C. Council jumped to action, passing emergency legislation demanded by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams to deal with the recent jump in violent in crime. Among the measures passed was a stricter curfew on juveniles, forcing them to be home by 10 p.m. or face a night in a holding center (think glorified detention hall). Yesterday Williams announced that Monday, July 31 would mark the start of the new curfew-on-steroids, and would last through August 30, at which point he could request an extenstion. In a press release, Williams stated:
Too often, young people are becoming involved in violent crimes. This earlier curfew hour is necessary in order to protect them from becoming victims of crime or from becoming involved in crimes at night. Dozens of cities across the United States have similar curfews, ranging from Philadelphia and Denver to Santa Barbara and Cleveland. Curfews will keep our children safer, and encourage parents to take a stronger interest in the activities of their children and to take responsibility for their whereabouts.If Williams wanted a feel-good, do-nothing solution, he's getting it next Monday. For all the fanfare surrounding our crime emergency, few people actually think a stricter curfew will do much of anything. We sure don't. The Post didn't either on Sunday, when it opined:
More problematic is the decision to allow the mayor to set an earlier curfew for those 16 or younger. Aside from making it more difficult for the majority of law-abiding youth to go to an evening movie or visit friends, one wonders what will be accomplished. The existing curfew has done little to counter juvenile crime, and there are better things for police to do than drive teens to curfew centers. Since most crimes are still committed by adults, maybe they're the ones who should be off the streets by 10 p.m.Will the curfew work? Probably not. Kids hell-bent on committing serious crimes will have few qualms with violating the provisions of their curfew. But worst of all, any decline in criminal activity, whether or not related to the actual curfew, will embolden city officials and convince them that the measure works. District juveniles, we say this to you -- hope for some more enlightened debate on crime in the future, because if not, this 10 p.m. curfew might become permanent.
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It was not wise of Williams to boast that a city like Philly has such a curfew-- that city is on pace to have another record-breaking amount of homicides this year.
As for the Post's (and DCist's) argument against an earlier curfew, I take two issues. First, from reading reports on crime, it seems the new M.O. for crime today (at least in NE DC) is to have large packs of teenagers gang up on people and mug them. Most murders and rapes may be committed by adults, but for the other serious crimes, I would have to balk in saying the same. Also:
Kids hell-bent on committing serious crimes will have few qualms with violating the provisions of their curfew.
Doesn't this argument turn on itself? If good parents keep their kids off the streets earlier and thus follow the curfew, wouldn't it make it easier for cops to assume that those who are violating the curfew are up to no good to begin with? If you see a kid on the street after 10PM, it may be easier to figure out he is about to commit a crime because he doesn't give a damn about that 10PM limit to begin with.
This being Washington DC, one can't help but think that the race factor is going to come into play.
I was contemplating screening some shirts that read as follows:
Keep Whites out of Georgetown
OR
Keep Whites out of DC
I would love to see the looks on peoples faces. Cuz what could they say, really? Ideal locations to give these threads the runway treatment: Tenleytown, Gallery Place/Chinatown area and of course Georgetown!
I obviously don't believe in segregation or any sort of exlusionary laws. However I am all for provoking people, especially after that comment made by that fool of an Inspector a few weeks ago.I'm surprised he wasn't lynched.
I'm all for the 10:00 PM curfew, and think it should be strictly enforced.
I can see why people might have concerns over the legitimacy of a curfew for teens, but I'm just wondering: What the hell are kids that are 16 and younger doing out after 10 pm anyway? Don't they have to go to school in the morning? Where are their parents or guardians? People need to take more responsibility for their children, curfew or not.
I'm sure the kids in my neighborhodd (Ward 3) have nothing to worry about :)
Speaking of crime, what's going on here in the US with crime? DC, Philly, Phoenix (serial killers) and even Indiana? There seems to be a surge in violence and major violent incidents in the country, or at least as reported. Is there something else going on here?
Spike in crime? Blame gay marriage. Angry straight youth are realizing they could have been gay all along, so now they are forced to vent their straighty anger in a forceful testosterone rage.....
What? Makes about as much sense as half the other rhetoric out there.
DC has crime. Even in good times. Yes, we need to address root causes, like absence of fathers in the poor black community, etc. MIA - all those wealthy black athletes and rappers who are doing NOTHING to chill the effects their obscenely materialistic examples are causing.
But in the meantime, lock the little bastards up. I came from a family so poor that we were allotted a certain number of toilet paper squares per day (four per kid, if you must know). And I never thought it was OK to rob people. Lock the punks up.
And force the cops to actually walk a beat in the residential neighborhoods. If it ain't safe enough for them to do so, how do they expect us residents to actually live here?
DC cops are reactive, showing up only after a crime is committed. They don't walk beats, so they don't know the people, they don't know who lives on a block and who doesn't, they don't know the core group of troublemakers, etc.
So... We're supposed to call 311/911 to report kids (who look) 17 or younger hanging out on the streets at night? Anyone called 311/911 at night recently about a non-life threatening issue and gotten a quick response? If so, in what part of the city?
This curfew is the most delusional thing I've heard of. I mean, I often can't even get police response to calls of drug dealing or public drinking or gambling, or all three at the same time, because MPD is out responding to life-threatening emergencies. No one should rely on MPD to sweep the streets each night- they've clearly more pressing matters to attend to.
Then there's the flip side: I personally know a bunch of the kids who ARE hanging out 'till all hours, acting as drug mules, binding into gangs and robbing and beating people. The police know them to, but often can't prove it and, when they can, the kids are often so young. But they do grow. The thing is, these kids don't want to be at home, what goes on in the house with their parents is much the same as what they're doing on the street. We need to be protected from the kids, but the kids also need to be protected from their families, and themselves. Is anyone working towards a comprehensive solution, even in the long term?
I'm all for enforcement, but it's a major tragic mistake not to really try to head the problem off before it gets to be an emergency.
It seems to me that the police in DC have their priorities all out of line. I recently received a ticket for skateboarding @ Freedom Plaza. $50. The whole ordeal took about a half an hour, and I thought it was quite pointless that federal (this was Park Police) monies are being spent on harmless skateboarders. This sounds rather typical and cliche, but unfortunately its true. These guys should be out in Petworth dealing with the cats who rob people by the metro station.
Even if the police aren't out sweeping up kids, its at least a useful tool to clear out groups of kids causing trouble or who cops have a bad feeling about. I'd rather the police have the ability to breakup underage groups if necessary.
"Even if the police aren't out sweeping up kids, its at least a useful tool to clear out groups of kids causing trouble or who cops have a bad feeling about. I'd rather the police have the ability to breakup underage groups if necessary."
Sure, it's probably a good thing that police will be able to selectively enforce this against people they don't like the look of. That sort of thing always ends well, right?
What the hell are kids that are 16 and younger doing out after 10 pm anyway? Don't they have to go to school in the morning?
Hey LB, there's this wacky new thing they just started doing here in the DC area called "summer vacation." Bizarre as it may sound, kids actually don't go to school 365 days out of the year. The curfew covers Friday and Saturday nights, too, and I don't know of too many schools that meet on Saturday and Sunday even when they are in session.
This means that if you're a teenager you are effectively banned from all movies that start later than 8 p.m. unless you go with your parents. If you go visit a friend in another part of the city, you'll have to leave at 9 or so to go home just to make sure you get there in time. If you go to a concert at Fort Reno, you better not stop off for an ice cream cone or a quick late dinner on your way home. And can just forget about attending all-ages shows at the Black Cat or the 9:30 or the Warehouse Next Door or Constitution Hall or anywhere else where bands tend to play.
If you're 16 and it's summer in the city, why WOULD you be at home before 10 o'clock on a weekend night?
But worst of all, any decline in criminal activity, whether or not related to the actual curfew, will embolden city officials and convince them that the measure works.
How long til Borf & the anarchist kids begin encouraging all DC-area youths to start bricking windows at random until the effectiveness of the curfew has been clarified?