Some Montgomery County lawmakers are questioning whether otherlaws are better suited than a curfew to prevent youth crime and flash mobs.
At a meeting Thursday, Councilman Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda, read from Maryland’s law against “disturbing the peace” and asked whether the county needs additional laws to deal with “a classic case of disturbance of the peace.”
The law prohibits blocking a public walkway, acting in a “disorderly manner that disturbs the public peace” and failing to obey “a reasonable and lawful order that a law enforcement officer makes to prevent a disturbance to the public peace.”
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Proposed by County Executive Ike Leggett, the curfew would ban anyone under 18 from being in public past 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or past midnight on weekends, with certain exceptions, like being at a movie that began before curfew hours or at a job. The law would give police officers the ability to tell anyone who appears to be 17 or younger to go home. Minors who refuse could face a fine of up to $100.
The problem with the law preventing a disturbance of the peace is that — unlike with the curfew — a police officer would not be able to tell anyone simply walking around to go home, said Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Hill. “When we prosecute a case like this, the judge is going to be listening for precisely what it is that the officer is trying to prevent.”
But Berliner referred to the events Leggett’s staff has cited as evidence of the need for a youth curfew: a gathering of about 70 youths in Silver Spring over the July Fourth weekend that led to a stabbing, and a recent flash mob robbery of a 7-Eleven in Germantown.
“If you saw 70 kids and had reason to believe that something was going down here, you would have been able to step in immediately,” Berliner said.
Councilman George Leventhal, D-at large, also asked whether the county or state has a loitering law. Council attorney Michael Faden said he was not aware of any, but was not sure.
