A Prince George’s County Council member has reluctantly proposed an expanded curfew, saying there’s “no reason to have a 15-year-old or a 16-year-old” without a chaperone during the wee hours on a school night.
Outside chambers Tuesday, Council member Ed Burroughs showed a video of a group of kids engaging in disorderly behavior. He said he gets similar videos every weekend.
His proposal for an expanded curfew could apply to what are considered primarily commercial areas in the county.
Burroughs, whose district includes National Harbor, said the proposal is an effort to keep young people safe, as “a lot of the violence that we see are young people against young people.”
“There’s no reason to have a 15-year-old or a 16-year-old without a chaperone at 2, 3 a.m. on a school night and that’s what we have,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs did not disclose who asked him to propose the bill, but said that over years, mainly during the last two years, he has heard from many businesses.
“I was very hesitant to move forward with this. But if things are not getting better, there has to be a remedy,” Burroughs said.
What the bill would do
Under the terms of the bill, an expanded curfew could require adult supervision of minors who are 17 and younger up to several hours before the current midnight curfew — which police aren’t really strictly enforcing anymore — takes effect.
It would take the backing of two-thirds of the businesses in that commercial zone and support from at least the county council member who represents that district to apply for the expanded curfew with the county police chief. After that, the chief would also be able to provide some input on the situation.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by John Domen over at WTOP
