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Councilmember Brooke Pinto
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Juvenile Curfew 1
Second Temporary Amendment Act of 2025 and the Volunteer Services Temporary 2
Amendment Act of 2025 to repeal the sunset date and continue the juvenile curfew 3
modifications and curfew zones authority for the Chief of Police and the Mayor. 4
5
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 6
resolution may be cited as the “Juvenile Curfew Sunset Emergency Declaration Resolution of 7
2026”. 8
Sec. 2. (a) The Juvenile Curfew Act of 1995, effective September 20, 1995 (D.C. Law 9
11-48; D.C. Official Code § 2-1541 et seq.) (“Juvenile Curfew Act”), was enacted for the 10
protection of minors to prevent violence and crime in the interest of public health, safety, and 11
general welfare. 12
(b) The Juvenile Curfew Act has subsequently been amended multiple times to extend the 13
curfew period, including in the Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2002, 14
effective July 23, 2002 (D.C. Act 14-453; 49 Stat. 8026), the Enhanced Crime Prevention and 15
Abatement Emergency Amendment Act of 2006, effective July 21, 2006 (D.C. Act 16-446; 53 16
DCR 6477), the Juvenile Curfew Emergency Amendment Act of 2025, effective July 7, 2025 17
(D.C. Act 26-104; 72 DCR 7691) (“Juvenile Curfew Emergency of 2025”), the Juvenile Curfew 18
Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2025, effective November 7, 2025 (D.C. Act 26-0178; 72 19
DCR 7691), and the Juvenile Curfew Second Temporary Amendment Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-20
218; 73 DCR 2681) (“Juvenile Curfew Second Temporary”). The Juvenile Curfew Second 21
Temporary sunsets the juvenile curfew changes on April 15, 2026. 22
(c) Since 2023, the District has seen a rise in concerning behavior by some 23
unaccompanied youth. The District has had numerous instances of large groups of youth 24
engaging in harmful, and at times criminal, conduct in multiple areas around the city, including 25
the Wharf, Navy Yard, and U Street. Multiple fights have broken out and robberies, assaults, and 26
shootings have occurred. According to MPD, these types of gatherings have become increasingly 27
predictable, with young people passing out flyers physically and online indicating that there will 28
be a large gathering or “takeover” on a particular day. While the Metropolitan Police Department 29
(“MPD”) has previously used various methods to address this conduct, including enhanced 30
enforcement of the disturbance of the peace offenses, working with local businesses on signage 31
related to trespassing by unaccompanied minors, and requests for a restricted curfew in the 32
Wharf, these tools proved too limited. 33
(d) However, the Juvenile Curfew Emergency of 2025 and the Juvenile Curfew Second 34
Temporary both allow for the Chief of Police to declare temporary Juvenile Curfew Zones to 35
prevent gatherings of large groups of youth during late evening hours. When this emergency 36
curfew legislation is in place, MPD is able to use information about planned "takeovers” to 37
determine where to designate juvenile curfew zones in an effort to prevent such gatherings from 38
resulting in violence. Without this legislative mechanism, MPD staffing can become strained 39
requiring MPD to pull officers from other neighborhoods when they must respond. 40
(e) Over the last 8 months, during which 17 Juvenile Curfew Zones have been declared, 41
MPD reports that the zones successfully kept groups of youth from gathering in those specific 42
zones during the extended times and kept young people safe. Unfortunately, during a period in 43
October 2025 when the Juvenile Curfew Emergency of 2025 expired, there were several 44
instances of large gatherings of youth––in Navy Yard, Gallery Place, Rhode Island Avenue, and 45
elsewhere––that resulted in fights and robberies –– further demonstrating the need for these tools 46
to remain in place. Most recently, the Chief of Police has used this curfew authority to declare 47
zones at the Wharf, Navy Yard, Chinatown, and U Street during the weekend when MPD had 48
indication that there would be large gatherings of young people in each of those locations. 49
Declaring these zones provided MPD with the authority to disperse large groups of young people 50
and be prepared with the proper resources to anticipate large gatherings. 51
(f) The Council previously included a sunset provision in the most recent temporary 52
legislation that would have the provisions in the temporary bill expire on April 15, 2026. April 53
15 is in the middle of DCPS Spring Break and prior to the summer months when the District has, 54
over the last year and a half, seen an increase in youth gathering in large groups that have 55
become violent. After seeing the continued success of the juvenile curfew zones throughout the 56
last 8 months, including last summer when incidents of violence tend to tick upward, the District 57
is seeking continued flexibility in the juvenile curfew to allow MPD to ensure the safety of both 58
young people and the public in order to more nimbly address significant safety concerns. 59
Therefore, it is determined that circumstances exist to continue these measures through the 60
spring and summer to ensure the safety of our young people, District residents, and visitors. By 61
repealing the sunset, these provisions would remain in effect until September 25, 2026. 62
(g) Last summer, the Mayor instituted “Late Night Hype” events to provide positive 63
programming for youth. The Juvenile Curfew Zones must be paired with this type of 64
programming to ensure that young people have positive and productive activities and 65
opportunities, particularly in the evenings. The Executive has committed to additional 66
programming for youth this spring and summer. 67
(h) Therefore, emergency legislation is needed to continue maintaining the safety of 68
young people and the public in the District. 69
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 70
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the 71
Juvenile Curfew Sunset Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 be adopted after a single reading. 72
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 73