The Metropolitan Police Department reminds young people and their families that the District of Columbia’s teen curfew begins one hour earlier on week nights to coincide with the start of the new school year.

Beginning September 1 through June 30, curfew begins at 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights and continues until 6 a.m. the following day. On weekend nights, curfew begins at 12:01 a.m., and ends at 6 the next morning. During the months of July and August only, the curfew hours are 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., seven nights a week.

The Juvenile Curfew Act of 1995 (DC Code 6-2181) states that persons under the age of 17 cannot remain in or on a street, park or other outdoor public place, in a vehicle or on the premises of any establishment within the District of Columbia during curfew hours, unless they are involved in certain exempted activities. Exempted activities include work, school, religious, civic or organized recreational activities, as well as the exercise of First Amendment rights of speech, religion and assembly.

While the law provides penalties both for young people who violate curfew and for parents or legal guardians who knowingly permit a minor to violate curfew, the Police Department’s primary strategy in enforcing the law is to reunite young people and their families. For curfew violators who live in the District, officers first attempt to take the juvenile home, or they hold the young person at the district police station until he or she is picked up by a parent or other responsible adult. Curfew violators who live outside the District are held at the district police station until they are picked up. Juveniles age 12 and younger, as well as 13- to 16-year-olds who are not picked up by 6 a.m. the following day, are turned over to the District’s Child and Family Services Agency .

Chronic offenders are subject to penalties that include up to 25 hours of community service for curfew violators themselves and up to a $500 fine or community service for a parent or legal guardian who violates the law.

Information about the District’s curfew law is available on the Police Department’s Web site. Flyers that explain the law also are available by calling 202-727-2662.