Maryland county to enforce teen curfew after deadliest month in decades
Teens in a Maryland county struggling with its deadliest month of crime in decades will be confined to their homes at night under a strict new curfew aimed at keeping them off the streets.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced Monday that the curfew will be closely enforced beginning next weekend and remain in effect for at least the next 30 days, as the station WTOP reported.
The curfew requires teens under 17 to be off the streets between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and between 11:59 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
“At this point, these kids don’t just need a hug, they need to be held accountable,” Alsobrooks said. “I know it’s not a popular thing to say, but it’s a fair question: Where are their parents? Where are the aunties, where are the uncles and other family members who are responsible for them?”
Parents of children who repeatedly break the curfew could be fined up to $250, and kids could be turned over to social services workers.
The crackdown comes after a particularly violent Labor Day weekend, during which at least four people were shot dead in the county, including 15-year-old De’Andre Johnson of Washington, DC, who was killed during a shooting at a 7-Eleven store Saturday.
Another 15-year-old who was wounded in the same shooting is in critical condition, and an 18-month-old girl shot in an apartment in Glenn Dale remains hospitalized.
County police investigated 24 killings in the month of August alone.
During the news conference announcing the curfew, Alsobrooks pointed to an “eye-popping” 430 arrests of juveniles so far this year — nearly double the number for the same period in 2021.
The last time a local youth curfew was strongly enforced was in 1995. Alsobrooks said current circumstances warrant bringing it back.
Even with the spike in killings in August, homicides in the county are down 15% compared to last year, according to county data.
“But the truth of the matter is, we are still seeing concerning levels of crime,” including a spike in carjackings often carried out by what she called “armed and dangerous children.”
Of the 84 juveniles arrested for carjacking offenses this year, 55 had prior arrests and 34 had busts for a previous violent crime or a gun offense, according to Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz.
He described the number of juveniles who are being repeatedly arrested as “deeply troubling.”
Alsobrooks called on the state’s attorney’s office, courts and police department to release data on busts and case verdicts, saying cops keep arresting and re-arresting repeat offenders.
“In short, we have an accountability problem in our county,” Alsobrooks said.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy acknowledged that crime in the county is at a crisis level and that the number of carjackings committed by youths is “outrageous,” but she pushed back against Alsobrooks’ criticism.
“We absolutely hold people accountable for serious crimes,” Braveboy said, pointing to her office’s 98% conviction rate.
“We are a part of the justice system; we make recommendations, but we are not the final say.”
With Post wires
