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Councilmember Brooke Pinto
A BILL
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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To amend, on an emergency basis, the Juvenile Curfew Act of 1995 to authorize the Mayor to 1
extend the juvenile curfew hours in the District when appropriate to protect public safety 2
or public or private property, to authorize the Chief of Police to establish extended 3
juvenile curfew hour zones in specified circumstances, to start the juvenile curfew hours 4
at 11 p.m. every day, and to extend the applicability of the juvenile curfew to 17-year 5
olds. 6
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 8
act may be cited as the “Juvenile Curfew Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 9
2025”. 10
Sec. 2. The Juvenile Curfew Act of 1995, effective September 20, 1995 (D.C. Law 11-48; 11
D.C. Official Code § 2-1541 et seq.), is amended as follows: 12
(a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 2-1542) is amended as follows: 13
(1) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows: 14
“(1) “Chief of Police” means the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.”. 15
(2) A new paragraph (1A) is added to read as follows: 16
“(1A) “Curfew hours” means: 17
“(A) During every month except July and August: 18
“(i) From 11:00 p.m. on every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, 19
Wednesday, and Thursday, until 6:00 a.m. on the following day; and 20
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“(ii) From 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on every Saturday and 21
Sunday; 22
“(B) During the months of July and August, from 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 23
a.m. every day; 24
“(C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph, during 25
the months of September, October, and November 2025, from 11:00 p.m. on every day until 6:00 26
a.m. on the following day; 27
“(D) Extended curfew hours established by the Mayor pursuant to section 28
3a; and 29
“(E) Extended curfew hours in extended juvenile curfew zones established 30
by the Chief of Police pursuant to section 3b.”. 31
(3) Paragraph (5) is amended by striking the phrase “under the age of 17 years” 32
and inserting the phrase “under the age of 18 years” in its place. 33
(4) A new paragraph (6A) is added to read as follows: 34
“(6A) “Notice of violation of curfew” means a verbal warning, authorized by an official 35
that informs a groups of juveniles that they are violating the terms of a curfew, that they may be 36
arrested if they continue to violate the curfew, and identifies reasonable steps that they can take 37
to leave the area to avoid arrest.”. 38
(b) New sections 3a and 3b are added to read as follows: 39
“Sec. 3a. Temporary extensions of juvenile curfew hours. 40
“(a) The Mayor may, by issuance of an administrative order pursuant to section 422(12) 41
of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, effective December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 890; D.C. 42
Official Code § 1-204.22(12), extend the juvenile curfew hours in the District, or any part of the 43
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District, beyond the hours established in section 3(1A)(A), (B), and (C), if the Mayor determines 44
that such an extension is appropriate to protect public safety or public or private property. 45
“(b) An administrative order issued by the Mayor under subsection (a) of this section 46
shall: 47
“(1) State the basis for the extension of the juvenile curfew hours; 48
“(2) State the locations in the District where the extended juvenile curfew hours 49
shall apply or state that the extended juvenile curfew hours shall apply throughout the District; 50
and 51
“(3) State the days and hours during which the extended juvenile curfew hours 52
shall be in effect; provided, that the extended juvenile curfew hours: 53
“(A) Shall not begin earlier than 8:00 p.m., nor extend past 6:00 a.m., on 54
any day; 55
“(B) Shall not remain in effect for more than 4 consecutive days, except as 56
provided in subsection (e) of this section; and 57
“(C) Shall not apply to groups of 8 or fewer individuals. 58
“(c) Except where emergency circumstances, as determined by the Mayor and described 59
in the administrative order issued under subsection (a) of this section, warrant otherwise, 60
extended juvenile curfew hours imposed under this section shall not take effect until at least 24 61
hours after the issuance of the administrative order. 62
“(d) Notice of the issuance of each administrative order issued under this section shall be 63
promptly posted on the main website of the District government and on the website of the 64
Metropolitan Police Department. 65
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“(e) The Mayor may extend the time period during which extended juvenile curfew hours 66
imposed by this section shall remain in effect by issuing subsequent Mayor’s orders extending 67
the time period; provided, that each such extension of the time period shall not exceed 30 days. 68
“(f) If members of the Metropolitan Police Department discover juveniles in the 69
designated extended juvenile curfew hours zone during the hours of curfew, the Metropolitan 70
Police Department shall: 71
“(1) Where there: 72
“(A) Is not an imminent danger of bodily injury of significant damage to 73
property, issue at lest 2 clearly audible and understandable notices of violation of curfew; or 74
“(B) Is imminent danger of bodily injury or significant damage to 75
property, issue at least one clearly audible and understandable notice of violation of curfew; 76
“(2) Provide juveniles a reasonable and adequate time to disperse; and 77
“(3) Capture on body-worn camera each component of the order to return home 78
described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. 79
“Sec. 3b. Temporary designations of extended juvenile curfew hour zones. 80
“(a) The Chief of Police may designate any area of the District as an extended juvenile 81
curfew hours zone, in which extended juvenile curfew hours determined by the Chief of Police 82
shall apply, if the Chief of Police determines that the designation of the extended juvenile curfew 83
hours zone is appropriate to protect public safety or public or private property in the extended 84
juvenile curfew hours zone. 85
“(b) To designate an extended juvenile curfew hours zone, the Chief of Police shall issue 86
an order that includes: 87
“(1) The basis for the designation of the extended juvenile curfew hours zone; 88
“(2) The boundaries of the extended juvenile curfew hours zone; and 89
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“(3) The days and hours of the extended juvenile curfew hours in the extended 90
juvenile curfew hours zone; provided, that the extended juvenile curfew hours in the extended 91
juvenile curfew hours zone: 92
“(A) Shall not begin earlier than 8:00 p.m., nor extend past 6:00 a.m., on 93
any day; 94
“(B) Shall not remain in effect for more than 4 consecutive days, except as 95
provided in subsection (e) of this section; and 96
“(C) Shall not apply to groups of 8 or fewer individuals. 97
“(c) In determining whether to designate an extended juvenile curfew hours zone, the 98
Chief of Police shall consider the following: 99
“(1) Within the preceding 30 days, the occurrence of: 100
“(A) Juvenile curfew violations in the proposed extended juvenile curfew 101
hours zone; 102
“(B) Police reports of disturbances of the public peace described in section 103
1 of An Act To confer concurrent jurisdiction on the police court of the District of Columbia in 104
certain cases, approved July 16, 1912 (37 Stat. 192; D.C. Official Code§ 22-1301), sections 6, 105
3,9, or 16of An act for the preservation of the public peace and the protection of property within 106
the District of Columbia, approved July 29, 1892 (27 Stat. 323; D.C. Official Code § 22-1307, § 107
22-1309, § 22-1312, or § 22-1318), section 211 of the District of Columbia Law Enforcement 108
Act of 1953, approved June 29, 1953 (67 Stat. 98; D.C. Official Code § 22-1321), or section 901 109
of An Act relating to crime and criminal procedure in the District of Columbia, approved 110
December27, 1967 (81 Stat. 742; D.C. Official Code § 22-1322), in the proposed extended 111
juvenile curfew hours zone; 112
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“(C) Police reports of dangerous crimes, as that term is defined in D.C. 113
Official Code § 23-1331(3), in the proposed extended juvenile curfew hours zone; 114
“(D) Police reports of crimes of violence, as that term is defined in D.C. 115
Official Code § 23-1331(4), in the proposed extended juvenile curfew hours zone; or 116
“(E) Police reports of destruction of or damage to public or private 117
property in the proposed extended juvenile curfew hours zone; 118
“(2) Intelligence or verifiable information indicative of an intent of 9 or more 119
juveniles to gather in the proposed extended juvenile curfew hours zone in such a manner that is 120
likely to result in substantial harm to the public safety, or the safety of those gathering, or 121
substantial damage to public or private property; and 122
“(3) Any other verifiable information from which the Chief of Police may 123
ascertain that public safety or public or private property in the proposed extended juvenile 124
curfew hours zone is likely to be endangered by the presence of unaccompanied juveniles in the 125
extended juvenile curfew hours zones. 126
“(d) Upon the designation of an extended juvenile curfew hours zone the Chief of Police 127
shall post notice of the designation on the website of the Metropolitan Police Department and 128
shall post signs in the immediate area of the extended juvenile curfew hours zone. 129
“(e) The Chief of Police may extend the duration of the designation of an extended 130
juvenile curfew hours zone to 30 days by issuing a subsequent order extending the duration of 131
the designation. 132
“(f) If members of the Metropolitan Police Department discover juveniles in the 133
designated extended juvenile curfew zone during the hours of curfew, the Metropolitan Police 134
Department shall: 135
“(1) Where there: 136
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“(A) Is not an imminent danger of bodily injury or significant damage to 137
property, issue at least 2 clearly audible and understandable notices of violation of curfew; or 138
“(B) Is imminent danger of bodily injury or significant damage to 139
property, issue at least one clearly audible and understandable notice of violation of curfew; 140
“(2) Provide juveniles a reasonable and adequate time to disperse; and 141
“(3) Capture on body-worn camera each component of the order to return home 142
described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. 143
“(g)(1) An Advisory Neighborhood Commission, business improvement district, or Main 144
Street organization may petition the Chief of Police to establish an extended juvenile curfew 145
hours zone in an area covered by, or adjacent to the area covered by, such entity. Such petition 146
shall be approved by a formal vote of the members of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, 147
the members of the board of the business improvement district, or the members of the board of 148
the Main Street organization. 149
“(2) A petition submitted pursuant to this subsection shall include the following 150
information: 151
“(A) The proposed boundaries of the extended juvenile curfew hours zone; 152
“(B) The proposed hours of the extended juvenile curfew; 153
“(C) The proposed duration, in days, of the proposed extended juvenile 154
curfew hours; 155
“(D) The reasons why the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, business 156
improvement district, or Main Street organization is requesting the designation of an extended 157
juvenile curfew hours zone; and 158
“(E) Such other information as the Chief of Police may require. 159
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“(3) Consideration of a petition submitted under this section, and the 160
determination of whether to designate an extended juvenile curfew hours zone in response to the 161
petition, shall be at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police.”. 162
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 163
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 164
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 165
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 166
Sec. 5. Effective date. 167
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 168
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and shall remain in effect for no longer than 169
90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 170
412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; 171
D.C. Official Code § 1-204.12(a)). 172