DC council to vote on controversial curfew bill
DC council will vote on making an unconstitutional juvenile curfew law permanent in the city.
Curfews Don’t Protect Children. They Criminalize Them.
The Washington, D.C. City Council is poised to make permanent a policy that does not solve youth violence, does not make communities safer, and does not respect the rights of children.
Instead, it risks doing something far more dangerous: normalizing the idea that young people themselves are the problem.
Bill 26-461 would allow law enforcement to designate curfew “zones” the same day they are enforced, with start times as early as 8 p.m. It contains no meaningful protections for youth who work late shifts, care for siblings, commute long distances, or simply exist in public space without suspicion. It grants broad discretionary authority to police, while offering little clarity, oversight, or accountability.
This is not a public safety strategy. It’s deprivation of civil rights based solely on age.
These laws constitute a host of violations of civil rights, including the rights to free assembly, freedom of speech and religion, protecti…
