D.C. Curfew Questions

Picking up violators off the streets shouldn't be the endgame.

IT'S TOO SOON to say how effectively the District's new curfew has worked. It is not too soon, however, to ask that the city look beyond the number of youths caught violating the 10 p.m. curfew or the number carted off to curfew centers. This is a time in which the authorities can and should use this revised curfew to learn more and perhaps devise a better response to the problem of unsupervised youth out on the streets late at night.

It's interesting to note that in the week ending July 22, well before the new rules went into effect, 292 curfew violators were caught by D.C. police. As of July 20, the number of violators this year had already run into the thousands. Who are these youths? Are they repeat violators, and if so, have penalties been applied? What about the parents or guardians who don't respond or show up to pick up their children? What has been the disposition of those cases?

At the end of this 30-day measure, the mayor owes the city a report on lessons learned and steps that city agencies and the community should take to prevent the behavior that gave rise to the curfew in the first place.