Mayor Bowser Enacts Limited Juvenile Curfew

(Washington, DC) - Today, in response to several weeks of disorderly juvenile behavior, including a large group that engaged in disorderly activity on Friday night in the Navy Yard neighborhood, Mayor Muriel Bowser is enacting a limited juvenile curfew for all youth under the age of 18.

All juveniles under the age of 18 years old are subject to a curfew that begins at 11 pm on November 1, 2025, until 6 am (the following morning), and every night thereafter, ending on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 11:59 pm.

Additionally, the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is authorized to:

• Designate special zones that she determines to be at high risk for disorderly conduct by youths and is empowered to establish earlier curfew times for those zones, for youths under 18 years old, beginning at 6 pm; and
• Declare a temporary curfew zone upon her finding that a group of at least eight youth is imminently scheduled to gather, or has gathered, and the safety of the youth, residents, or the public is endangered.

The behavior on Halloween evening - which included young people brawling, blocking streets, and moving into commercial establishments in large groups, endangering both themselves and others in the area - follows several weekends of similar behavior by youth in neighborhoods across the District. On October 31, five youth were arrested by MPD and one police officer suffered minor injuries.

On July 7, 2025, the Council of the District of Columbia enacted emergency legislation introduced by Mayor Bowser, the Juvenile Curfew Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-104), that temporarily extended the citywide curfew's applicability to 17-year-olds and to weekend nights. The extended curfew was successful in reducing fights, violence, and vandalism by juveniles and youth. The emergency legislation expired on October 5, 2025. After the expiration of the emergency legislation, the District experienced an immediate increase in disorderly conduct and youth violence.

The new limited curfew is enacted through a public emergency, via Mayor's Order, and comes after the Executive testified before Council during a public roundtable on Thursday, October 30, regarding the Extended Juvenile Curfew and Designated Juvenile Curfew Zones in the District of Columbia.

In May, Mayor Bowser shared she was prepared to adjust the District's public safety posture, especially as it relates to recent disturbances involving juveniles in commercial areas across the District, and introduced legislation updating the District's curfew. This spring, MPD increased police presence in neighborhoods across the city, with the goal of preventing and disrupting negative behavior and strictly enforcing laws around disturbance of the public peace offenses.

View the Mayor's Order.

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