After a series of violent incidents involving Prince George’s teens, local leaders are taking steps to promote public safety, and imposed a temporary curfew in the National Harbor, effective as of 5 p.m. on April 26.
In September 2023, a 16-year-old was murdered near DuVal High School. More recently on Friday, April 19, five teens were shot at an unofficial “Senior Skip Day” event in Greenbelt’s Schrom Hills Park. That same weekend, more than 100 young people gathered at National Harbor for a fight, before scattering once police arrived to break up the rumble.
“The safety and well-being of our residents, visitors, and businesses at National Harbor are of the utmost importance,” said County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. “The implementation of a juvenile curfew is a necessary step to address the recent incidents of unruly behavior and ensure public safety..”
This temporary curfew requires anyone age 16 or younger without supervision to be off the National Harbor premises between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Parents of violators could face fines of $250 or more.
Signs were posted around the area, and police presence was clear throughout the shopping, dining and entertainment district. Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz spent Saturday patrolling the area and talking with shoppers and business owners alike about what this curfew will mean.
“We’re going to work together in the future to mitigate [and] incapacitate the type of things that happened here this past weekend,” said Aziz. “We are here to have a truly community engagement campaign. We hope prevention prevails over enforcement.”
Aziz cited a 36% increase in crime from 2022 to 2023, including a 141% rise in carjackings. At a hearing last week, he said that overall crime is down 13% this year, but violent crime is up 11% and that juveniles accounted for 50 of 65 arrests for carjackings in the county.
He also explained a worsening problem is ghost guns, which Prince George’s Council member Krystal Oriadha (D-District 7) has introduced legislation to better regulate and enforce within county lines.
“We’re going to… look for new creative, innovative approaches to mitigate crime in Prince George’s County,” Aziz said in January.
A bill to allow curfew zones for retail, entertainment, and dining business owners was introduced by Prince George’s Council member Edward Burroughs III (D-District 8), which will likely be voted on next month.
Burroughs, who started in politics as a Board of Education member and also worked in State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy’s office to reduce youth recidivism, said that the Park and Planning Commission could better allocate funds to provide after-school and summer activities in an effort to prevent crime.
Council Chair Jolene Ivey (D-District 5) says that Burroughs’ bill is likely to pass before summer vacation.
“No one is happy about it, really,” Ivey told The Informer. “I just wish people would stay on top of their kids, their young people, and make sure they’re involved in really positive activities and know it is not the thing to drop your kids off somewhere at some commercial area and just let them run.”
The National Harbor said in a statement that they support both Alsobrooks’ and Burroughs’ efforts to bring a curfew.
“We believe this curfew will help to ensure that everyone at National Harbor can have a safe, memorable experience and enjoy the many amenities, restaurants, retail and other offerings at our property,” National Harbor explained.
For more information on the National Harbor Curfew, go to mypgc.us/NationalHarborCurfew.