The loitering bill proposed this week in Montgomery County is facing some of the same criticisms as the proposed youth curfew it is intended to replace — that it would violate civil liberties and that it is unnecessary. Introduced by Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville, who has been a vocal opponent of a curfew, the bill would prohibit “loitering or prowling,” defined as being in a public place “in a manner not usual for law-abiding persons under circumstances that warrant a justifiable and reasonable alarm.”
Unlike the curfew, the bill punishes behavior, not assembly, which is constitutionally protected, said Andrews, who chairs the council’s public safety committee. It also allows police to stop potential crimes even if the perpetrators are over the age of 18 or in public before 11 p.m.
But critics worry that police will have too much discretion in deciding who is loitering or prowling.
“People do have the right to walk and linger in public places,” said Meredith Curtis, a spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, which has also spoken out against the curfew.
Curtis said Andrews’ bill in particular is too vague, so it’s hard for people to know what is illegal.
“I have no idea what a normal person does at a normal time,” said Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large and a member of the public safety committee. “Until the moment that someone’s actually committing a crime, everything they do up to that point could appear to be normal.”
Five years ago, the council repealed a loitering law that they felt could be unconstitutional.
But this bill was modeled after bills in Florida and Georgia that have been upheld in court, said Andrews.
Still, that gives some critics little comfort.
“I don’t look to Georgia as a model for Montgomery County,” said Councilman Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda and a member of the public safety committee.
Curfews have been upheld nationwide, said Patrick Lacefield, spokesman for County Executive Ike Leggett. But only a couple of loitering laws have been upheld.
Though Elrich said he is unconvinced that the curfew is a good idea or necessary, the loitering bill is not a good idea either. Both bills are solutions to problems that don’t exist, he said.
The incident cited as the inspiration for the curfew — a gang-related stabbing on July 4 weekend in Silver Spring — was an isolated incident, said Elrich.
