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Montgomery County police need a youth curfew to keep the peace, according to Chief J. Thomas Manger.

However, the proposal from County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) drew criticism from youth, parents, police officers and some County Council members Tuesday for being ineffective and unnecessary. The council heard from 26 people on both sides of the issue during the public hearing.

“I have real doubts about whether gang members who are interested in doing something illegal would be deterred [by this law],” said Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg.

If the council passes it, the law would establish an 11 p.m. curfew on weeknights and midnight on weekends, lasting until 5 a.m. the next day.

Youth found breaking the curfew would be taken to the nearest police station, and their parents could be required to take parenting classes and pay fines. Youth could break curfew if accompanied by a parent or guardian, on an errand at the direction of their parents, going to or from work, or attending school or religious functions.

The proposal has mobilized county youth and led to the creation of a Facebook page opposing the curfew that has roughly 6,000 members.

“The curfew assumes guilt rather than innocence,” 16-year-old Connor Jobes, of Bethesda, said Tuesday.

Connor’s mother, Colleen Kelly, also spoke against the curfew, saying it infringed on her parental rights. Connor already has a curfew — usually around midnight — but when Connor texts her and asks to spend an extra half-hour at his friend’s house, Kelly said she would like to be able to allow it.

Others who spoke Tuesday questioned the rationale for not applying the law if youth are attending movie theaters, restaurants and other entertainment venues.

The union that represents the officers who would have to enforce the law also opposes it. Torrie L. Cooke, corporate vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 35, said the union is concerned police resources will be spread too thin.

"Police officers will become babysitters," he said.

He also said it was unfair for youth in communities such as Poolesville to be subject to a curfew intended to curb crime in more urban areas, like Silver Spring and Bethesda.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland also opposed the law, saying it infringes on basic civil liberties of youth and on parents' rights.

Manger said the curfew is needed to help prevent gangs and large numbers of youth gathering late at night — particularly in downtown Silver Spring — from getting into fights and committing crimes. Many of the youth, Manger said, come from the District of Columbia and Prince George’s County, where curfews already are in place.

Of the 241,639 calls dispatched by police countywide in 2010, a total of 49,291 — about 20 percent — were dispatched in the Silver Spring district. This makes the Silver Spring district the busiest of the county's six policing districts.

On July 2, Manger said, police tried to control a group of about 70 youth fighting in Silver Spring’s central business district. The juveniles broke into smaller groups and evaded officers, but not before someone was stabbed.

If the county had a curfew, Manger said, that incident could have been avoided because officers would have had the authority to tell the youth to go home. He conceded that some of those involved were 18 or older.

“It would have a deterrent effect,” he said.

In 2010, there were 3,222 juvenile arrests in Montgomery, up from 2,035 in 2009, Manger said. He did not know what time of day those arrests occurred and said that analysis could take weeks.

Councilman Craig L. Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown said Tuesday he was concerned that minority youth would be unfairly targeted and become victims of racial profiling.

But Manger said hiring good officers and properly training officers would ensure that does not happen.

He said he also was unsure whether youth curfew laws in the District or Prince George’s County had led to less crime. In the District, police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said its curfew, enacted in 1995, resulted in 4,000 citations last year, and about 2,000 so far this year. Prince George’s County does not track its curfew-related citations, an officer said.

However, Manger said, the curfew law is not intended to reduce crime on its own, but is another tool for officers.

“What are these kids doing out at 3 a.m.?” he asked.

Rafeh Qureshi, 16, of Bethesda, is an honor roll student and enrolled in the magnet program at Walter Johnson High School. He said sometimes his homework keeps him busy until late evening. Rafeh, who participates in cross country and track, then eats and often goes for a run between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

“Sometimes I want to go out at night, but not because I want to do something bad,” he said.

Staff writer Jeremy Arias contributed to this story.

ecunningham@gazette.net