On June 1, 2010, the DC Council rejected emergency curfew legislation introduced by Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6). The "Youth Safety and Summer Curfew Emergency Amendment Act of 2010" was defeated by a vote of 7-6. As the Campaign for Youth Justice pointed out, “Councilman Wells has not contacted DC residents, youth advocates, youth-servicing organizations, and youth-led organizations to invite their views on legislation that would directly affect youth.”  This curfew bill, like many of its predecessors, failed in part because most crimes committed against children are not committed at night, and most children who are out at night are not out to commit crimes. 

In 2007, during public testimony before the DC Council regarding a similar curfew bill, DCLY laid out statistics as to why these carte-blanche curfews are ineffective at curbing crime or keeping children safe.  Studies show that peak hour for violent crimes against youth ages 12-14 is around 3pm.  Violent crimes committed by youth offenders peaks at 3pm during school days and 8pm during non-school days.  Also, the majority of violent crimes against youth age 12-14 and 50% of the violent crimes against youth ages 15-17 occurs inside their homes.  A curfew that makes it a crime for a teenager to be outside his home after 10pm fails to realize that the majority of dangers to juveniles occur in places and hours that would not be resolved by a quick-fix curfew.  Instead, the city should invest its resources in creating more constructive options for children such as extended hours for community rec centers and increased offerings of culture, arts, and entertainment.     

The failure of these curfew bills harkens back to the wise words of a federal court that rejected a similar DC juvenile curfew back in 1989.  The US District Court for the District of Columbia reminded us in Waters v. Barry:

"The restriction, although perhaps by its nature silent, would be massive. Every juvenile in the District of Columbia would be arrested if he or she sought to wander the monuments at night, or if he or she sought to gaze at the stars from a public park . . . the Act cannot help but "broadly stifle" the fundamental liberty interests of thousands of perfectly innocent, law-abiding juveniles who live in or who may visit the District of Columbia."

What that 1989 curfew, the 2007 curfew, and the most recent failed curfew of 2010 all egregiously do is assume that any child who is outside his or her home at night is out to commit a crime.  Statistics say otherwise.  The courts have said otherwise.  And our community—parents, friends, teachers, neighbors, and the kids themselves—just know better.