"What time is my curfew?" "What if I'm out with my brother and he's 18?" "If I hide, can I still stay out and play?"

A 23-year-old man with thin, cascading braids who goes by the name Dreads interrupted the chorus of voices: "It's 8:05! You all have 55 minutes left!"

A new youth curfew law, among the strictest in the nation, took effect in Baltimore on Friday night. It requires unaccompanied children under the age of 14 to be indoors by 9 p.m. and for 14, 15 and 16-year-olds to be indoors by 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends and during the summer.