Council’s inaction on youth curfews fuels debate in DC

The D.C. Council chairman fired back at criticism the Council is soft on crime after voting to allow the police chief’s authority to implement emergency curfew zones to expire in two weeks.

Chairman Phil Mendelson said he worries the public debate could lead to another federal takeover of the police department.

D.C.’s police chief and Mayor Muriel Bowser say the youth curfew zones help prevent scenes where hundreds of young people gather at spots like Navy Yard and become violent.

Headed into spring break, Bowser wanted the chief’s curfew authority to be extended another three months, but Council voted to delay any vote until later this month after the chief’s authority expires April 15.

“It was a decision by the Council as a whole,” Bowser said earlier this week. “The chairman moved for postponement, and all of the councilmembers agreed. And that is, in essence, killing the youth curfew.”

“So, the Council will say, Oh, we drove crime down, so let’s start going back to soft-on-crime policies,” the mayor said.

Mendelson worries the mayor’s remarks will be used by Republicans who want to overturn home rule in the District or to encourage President Donald Trump to federalize the police department again.

“The mayor’s remarks can be used as ammunition against a District by Republicans in Congress who’ve done that before,” Mendelson said. “That’s a problem. And the mayor’s remarks can offend some councilmembers, and we need those councilmembers to get the yes.”

“Calling names, saying you’re soft on crime is not a constructive way to get to the nine votes that are needed,” he said.

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro blasted the Council decision on Fox News.

“The D.C. Council that is responsible for the teen crime based upon the inept laws that they have passed has basically said, You know what? We’re going to postpone any decision, and we’re going to let the discretionary curfew run out,” she said. “And they’re doing this while the schools are on spring break. I mean, they are asking for a problem.”

“The problem is that they don’t believe that these young people need to be treated as criminals,” she said.

“So, the D.C. Council protects these kids, and they are creating the criminal violence that doesn’t allow us as prosecutors to go in and treat them as the criminals that they are,” Pirro said.

“Well, I don’t think that’s correct at all,” Mendelson countered. “If juveniles commit crimes, they get arrested, prosecuted, and there is a sentence. I think what she’s disagreeing about is whether 14-year-olds should always be tried as adults, and I think that’s just ignoring what all the research says about juvenile justice.”

He acknowledged Bowser can still declare a crime emergency to keep the youth curfew zones in effect.

“If she thinks that’s necessary and she can justify it and she has the authority, then that’s what she can do,” Mendelson said.

He said he believes the Council will support extending the youth curfew zones when they vote later this month.

This weekend, the chief called for youth curfews in five neighborhoods: Navy Yard, U Street corridor, Chinatown, the waterfront and Banneker across the street from Howard University. The curfew starts at 8 p.m. and prohibits gatherings of nine or more people under 18.