Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 1997
Bill 12-97

DC Watch Home

Council Period 12

Council Period 13

Council Period 14

Council Period 15

Election 1998

Election 2000

Election 2002

themail

Search DCWatch

A BILL IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Councilmember Harold Brazil introduced the following bill, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

To amend Law 8-179, §3, 27 DCR 4886 (1981) to establish a curfew for juveniles in the District of Columbia, to provide findings and purpose for establishment of the act, to provide for parental responsibility for implementation of the act and to provide for exceptions to the act.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 1997.

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.

(a) The Council of the District of Columbia has determined that there has been an increase in juvenile violence, juvenile gang activity, and crime by persons under the age of 17 in the District of Columbia.

(b) The Council of the District of Columbia has determined that persons under the age of 17 are particularly susceptible, by their lack of maturity and experience, to participate in unlawful and gang-related activities and to be victims of older perpetrators of crime.

(c) The Council of the District of Columbia has an obligation to provide for the protection of minors from each other and from other persons, for the enforcement of parental control over and responsibility for children, for the protection of the general public, and for the reduction of the incidence of juvenile criminal activity.

(d) The Council of the District of Columbia has determined that a curfew for 10 those under the age of 17 will be in the interest of the public health, safety, and general welfare and will help to attain these objectives and to diminish the undesirable impact of this conduct on the citizens of the District of Columbia.

(e) The Council of the District of Columbia determines that passage of a curfew law will protect the welfare of minors by:

(1) Reducing the likelihood that minors will be the victims of criminal 16 acts during the curfew hours;

(2) Reducing the likelihood that minors will become involved in criminal acts or exposed to narcotics trafficking during the curfew hours; and

(3) Aiding parents or guardians in carrying out their responsibility to exercise reasonable supervision of minors entrusted to their care.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

(a) "Curfew hours" means 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, until 6:00 a.m. on the following day; and 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Friday or Saturday.

(b) "Emergency" means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. "Emergency" includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation that requires immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.

(c) "Establishment" means any privately-owned place of business operated for a profit to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment.

(d) "Guardian" means a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person or a minor or a public or private agency with whom a minor has been place by a court.

(e) "Minor" means any person under the age of 17 years, but does not include a judicially emancipated minor.

(f) "Narcotic trafficking" means the act of engaging in any prohibited activity related to narcotic drugs or controlled substances as defined in the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled substances Act of 1981, effective August 5, 1981 (D.C. Law 4-29; D.C. Code §33-501 et seq.).

(g) "Operator" means any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation that operates, manages, or conducts any establishment. "Operator" includes the members or partners of an association or partnership and the officers of a corporation.

(h) "Parent" means a natural or adoptive parent or any person who has legal custody by court order or marriage.

(i) "Public place" means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops.

(j) "Remain" means to linger or stay or fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer of the owner, operator, or other person in control of the premises.

(k) "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

Sec. 4. Curfew authority, defenses, enforcement and penalties.

(a)(1) A minor commits an offense if he or she remains in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the District of Columbia during curfew hours.

(2) A parent or guardian of a minor commits an offense if he or she knowingly permits, or by insufficient control allows, the minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.

(3) The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if he knowingly allows a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.

(b)(1) It is a defense to prosecution under the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 1993 that the minor was:

(A) accompanied by the minor's parent or guardian;

(B) on an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or guardian, without any detour or stop;

(C) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;

(D) engaged in an employment activity, pursuant to An Act To regulate the employment of minors within the District of Columbia approved May 29, 1928 (45 Stat. 998; D.C. Code §36-501 et seq.) or going to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop;

(E) involved in an emergency;

(F) on the sidewalk that abuts the minor's residence or that abuts the residence of a next-door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the Metropolitan Police Department;

(G) in attendance at an official school, religious, or other recreational activity sponsored by the District of Columbia, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the District of Columbia, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor; or

(H) exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, including, free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right to assembly.

(2) It is a defense to prosecution under paragraph (a)(3) of this section that the owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly notified the Metropolitan Police Department that a minor was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave.

(c)(1) Before taking any enforcement action under this section a police officer shall ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in the public place. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no defense in subsection (b) is present.

(2) If a police officer determines, based on all information reasonably available, including any information offered by the person, that the person is under the age of 17 years, remains in or upon a street, park, or other outdoor public place in the District during the curfew hours, and none of the exceptions set forth in this section applies, the hours, and none of the exceptions set forth in this section applies, the police officer shall take the person to the nearest available Police District headquarters or sub-station or other area designated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

(3) A minor who violates this act shall be detained by the Metropolitan Police force at the nearest available Police District headquarters or sub-station or other area designated by the Metropolitan Police Department and released into the custody of the minor's parent. The minor's parent or an adult person acting in loco parentis with respect to the minor shall be called to the Police District headquarters or sub-station or other designated area to take custody for violation of the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 1993 while returning home with the person acting in loco parentis. If no one claims responsibility for the minor, the minor shall be detained at the nearest available Police District headquarters or sub-station or other area designated by the Metropolitan Police Department in a room that is not a cell or placed in the custody of the appropriate official at the Family Services Administration of the Department of Human Services and released at 6:00 a.m. that morning.

(d)(1) a person who violates a provision of this act is guilty of a separate offense for each day or part of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted. Each offense, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.

(2) When required by §16-2302 of the District of Columbia Code all charges brought under the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act shall be transferred to the Family Division of the Superior court of the District of Columbia.

(e)(1) The Mayor shall report to the Council on the curfew's effectiveness and shall recommend that the curfew for minors either be continued or discontinued within 5 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and days of Council recess, prior to the expiration of this act.

(2) Criteria by which effectiveness shall be measured include monthly statistics, by Ward and Police District on:

(A) the number of minors detained and the number of persons fined as a result of a violation of the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 1994;

(B) the number of criminal homicides and other narcotic trafficking related crimes of violence committed during the time that this act is in effect by age and time of day;

(C) the number of minors injured during the curfew hours as a result of crime and the cause of each injury; and

(D) the District's net cost of enforcing the ordinance.

Sec. 5. Records sealed.

Any law enforcement records or files of a minor attendant to a violation of the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 1994 shall be sealed by the Metropolitan Police Department when the minor reaches the age of majority.

Sec. 6. (a) This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of a veto by the Mayor, action by the Council of the District of Columbia to override the veto), approval by the Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority Act of 1995, approved April 17, 1995 (109 Stat. 116; D.C. Code §478-292.3(c)), and a 60-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(2) of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code §1233(c)(2)), and publication in either the District of Columbia Register, the District of Columbia Statues-at-Large, or the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.