Amendments Underway for Proposed Teen Curfew Law

The proposed teen curfew law in Montgomery County continues to raise issues of racial profiling, gang violence, and a need for crowd control at a Wednesday at the Silver Spring Civic Center.

County Executive Isiah Leggett proposed the bill back in July, which has since sparked conversations in various communities around the county.

On hand at the meeting were Lt. Robert Carter of Montgomery County Police-Third District; County Council member George Levanthal (At-Large D); Darian Unger, Chair of Silver Spring's Transportation and Pedestrian Safety Committee; Abigail Burman and Leah Muskin-Pierret, Coordinators from Stand Up To The Montgomery County Curfew Law, and others, all bringing their concerns and solutions to curb county crime to the table.

However, the County Executive is reportedly considering amendments to the current bill, which should be released in the upcoming week, said Kathleen Boucher, Leggett's Assistant Chief Administrative Officer. Boucher said the proposed amendments include:

1. Making it "Class A" offense if the curfew is violated.
2. Maximum penalties of $100 for the first offense and $150 for a second offense.
3. Adding summer hours to the bill.
4. Adding a clause that relates to sports and entertainment.
5. Making the law apply only to teens 17-years-old and under.

Attendee Carmen Camacho, who owns Bud Miller Associates at 705 Spring Street in Silver Spring, lives in Prince George’s County but agreed that a curfew is effective. Camacho said she didn’t know about the Prince George's curfew until her four teenagers decided to walk around the neighborhood and police officers came knocking on her door.

“They were stopped and asked why they were walking around. Evidently, they sent some other police officer to knock on our door to check that the kids lived there. Once they were able to confirm the kids walked back,” said Camacho.

Abigail Burman said that there have been few incidents occurring during the proposed curfew hours or under proposed rules for Montgomery County. 

There are existing laws that take care of the crime that exist, insisted Burman. “Selective enforcement is not the way to create a law,” said added. 

Some residents who knew about the July 2 incident—which included a large crowd of teens walking around during midnight in downtown Silver Spring after a fight— didn’t understand why there wasn’t a law on the books for crowd control in general. 

“I think if I were walking down the street at any age. I would be concerned,” said Silver Spring resident Michelle Blair. “I’m not convinced that the curfew would universally address that scenario because if the people were 18 or 19 it wouldn’t necessarily affect them.”

Others echoed this concern in the meeting.

Lt. Robert Carter of the Third District said there was a loitering law, but it was deemed unconstitutional. Carter said this former law could be effective for current problems and should be revised.

“What we need to do is go back and revisit that law and go, where did we feel in the language of the law, can we stand this law back up and how can we word it so that it can stand judicial scrutiny, ” said Carter. 

The Silver Spring Spring Advisory Board will revisit these concerns on Monday, Sept. 12 to advise the Montgomery County Council their decision. Meanwhile, county council members will be preparing to hold a session to discuss the issue on Sept. 15.