FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — The new emergency juvenile curfew at the National Harbor is underway. A heavy police presence could be seen around the National Harbor in Prince George’s County Friday just after 5 p.m. when the curfew went into effect. This is following the large fights and chaos at the harbor last weekend.
After the curfew went into effect it was noticeably quiet in the area, but something that stands out for Justin Boone around his neighborhood is the increased police presence.
"Yeah I noticed that," Boone said.
Prince George's County leaders are hoping to curb violence and crime with this new emergency juvenile curfew. It's from 5 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. on Sunday. Police will clear out unsupervised kids under 16, and parents could see up to a $250 fine.
"I've been here for a few years and there haven't been that many problems so maybe, maybe not,” Boone said. “I think it’s probably a bit excessive."
After WUSA9 showed him videos of what happened last weekend, he changed his mind.
"Uh oh... that's not great," Boone said. "So all of my answers, I change them."
The latest disruption was caught on video, kids were fighting and gathered late Saturday night into Sunday morning.
"We're ready to rise and respond to any incident that may occur,” Prince George's County Police Department Chief Malik Aziz said.
In a one-on-one interview, Police Chief Aziz says he's confident in this plan. "We're going to work together in the future to mitigate, incapacitate the type of things that happened here this past weekend.”
He spent the afternoon patrolling the National Harbor and meeting with business owners. He said it’s about educating everyone who is walking around the harbor that's apart of the warning.
"We are here to have a truly community engagement campaign,” Chief Aziz said. "We hope prevention prevails over enforcement."
The National Harbor released a statement saying in part:
"We understand that there are problems with gatherings of large groups of underage children on weekends throughout the D.C. region. The safety of our visitors, residents and, most importantly, the children in our region is a priority at National Harbor. Last week, Councilmember Burroughs introduced a modification to the existing curfew laws that we endorse. As that proposal winds its way through the approval process, County Executive Alsobrooks has stepped up with an emergency measure that will implement tighter curfew regulations at National Harbor. We support both of these efforts and their leadership. We believe this curfew will help to ensure that everyone at National Harbor can have a safe, memorable experience and enjoy the many amenities, restaurants, retail and other offerings at our property."
"We don't come here very often, we just wanted to see the area,” a teenager who was affected by the curfew, Ben Shoushan said.
The curfew was shocking and new for some teens who are visiting. WUSA9 spoke with two teens from Anne Arundel County.
"We just came over and we saw the signs talking about there is a curfew,” Shoushan said.
The two teens WUSA9 ran into technically should have a parent with them.
"We don't even know about this to be honest,” Shoushan said.
The group of teens said it's not easy to have your parents always with you.
"Our parents don't want to come out the house, having to get them over here isn't easy,” another teen visiting the harbor Khalik Newbeld said. "And it's a Friday, Saturday, Sunday those are their days off."
Meanwhile Boone says this new crackdown could help.
"It's probably the best to have an increase police force just so people feel safe and so people aren't getting hurt,” Boone said.
This weekend there is a big Commanders draft party where kids will be expected to be but it's before the curfew. Chief Aziz said they still have an additional security plan in place with expectations of a large crowd.
Watch Next: Juvenile curfew at National Harbor starts Friday