D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday downplayed reporting by The Washington Post that the Metropolitan Police Department has quietly resumed enforcement of its curfew for D.C. youth in an effort to curb crime.

The curfew has been on the books since 1995, but has not been consistently enforced. Speaking at a press conference, Bowser said that no announcement had been made because no policy change has occurred.

“We’ve always had a curfew; that’s not anything new. There’s not a widespread program, but I can promise you if police encounter a 13-year-old at 3 o’clock in the morning, they’re probably going to get enforced,” Bowser said.

Christopher Geldart, D.C.’s deputy mayor for public safety and justice, echoed Bowser’s comments. “There’s no widespread enforcement. There’s been no change in our policy on this. When it’s necessary to enforce for the protection of our youth, our MPD officers will do that.”

Geldart also said there has been no increase in enforcement, but rather “steady” enforcement throughout the summer, contradicting the Post’s reporting. According to Geldart, 2017 was the last time there was a focus on enforcement of the youth curfew policy across the city.

The measure states that any person under the age of 17 cannot be in a street, park, vehicle, outdoors, or on the premises of any D.C. establishment unless accompanied by an adult. The curfew is in place between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, with the weekend curfew starting at 12:01 a.m. Parents or guardians may be fined up to $500, while minors may be ordered to perform 25 hours of community service for violations.

“The police officers will take the person home,” Geldart said at a press conference.

The back and forth over the enforcement of the city’s youth curfew comes after Prince George’s County announced it would start enforcing its own 30-day youth curfew, also in an effort to combat crime. That curfew has also been on the books since 1995.

Existing research has questioned whether curfews are effective in reducing crime or protecting youth from becoming victims of crime. Inconsistent enforcement, for example, can make it challenging to track the impact of curfews. D.C. implemented its first juvenile curfew in 1995. An analysis of that effort published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice found that it did not reduce juvenile arrests. An evaluation by the Urban Institute for Prince George’s County’s policy looked at whether it reduced the victimization of youth under 17, but the analysis did not find the curfew had a significant effect.

Various candidates for office in D.C. expressed conflicting opinions about MPD’s policy at a public safety forum Wednesday night at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Ward 8, which was hosted by the Anacostia Coordinating Council and other sponsors.

Both D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and his Republican challenger Nate Derenge said they do not support a youth curfew, a view echoed by Libertarian mayoral candidate Dennis Sobin.

“Curfews are done in dictatorships. They’re done in draconian societies. It doesn’t belong in America,” he said, before conceding that he personally would ensure his kids were home at night. “I would never let the kids go out anyway unless there was some supervision.”

Independent mayoral candidate Rodney “Red” Grant cited the high rate of crime in noting his support for a youth curfew. “We’ve got to get it together. Young people are out here wilding sometimes, and whatever it’s going to take for us to get them under control, we have to,” he said.

It’s unclear how officers determine who is violating the policy or who meets exceptions to the rule, including those with late-night jobs or attending a school event. In D.C.,  police officers are allowed to stop and question anyone they believe to be under 17 and outside after hours, according to the Washington Post.

MPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Previously:

Prince George’s County Will Enforce Curfew On Residents Under 17 In Response To Crime Spike