Title
AN ACT CONCERNING JUVENILE AND MINOR CURFEW ZONES for the purpose of allowing commercial property owners the ability to request the Police Chief to create zones within the County with a more restrictive juvenile or minor curfew; providing for the application for a more restrictive juvenile or minor curfew zone including the specification of the area covered following reasonable geographical boundaries; providing that the proposed area is primarily commercial; providing that the applicant demonstrates the ability to provide notice to the public of the more restrictive juvenile or minor curfew zone; and providing the applicant includes a letter of support from at least one County Council member that represents the district containing the more restrictive juvenile or minor curfew zone.
Background
This bill vests the chief of police with the authority to create more restrictive juvenile curfew zones when retail/commercial property owners petition the chief of police. In response to the recent increase in criminal activity in this and neighboring counties the County Council with the assistance of local law enforcement must take more aggressive measures to fight the increase in criminal activity in the County. A large portion of criminal activity in the County is perpetrated by individuals under the age of 18. This bill is needed to fight the County's increase in juvenile criminal activity in its commercial zones. The County's authority to enact this bill is derived from its police powers delegated under Md. Local Government Code Ann. § 10-206.