Despite the many benefits of the internet, there are downsides. While it’s brought us home banking and the ability to look up songs we thought we’d forgotten, it has also created menaces such as phishing scams and your boss’s expectation that you’ll be on call 24 hours a day. If you haven’t already, you can add “teen takeovers” to the list of collateral damage spawned by the invention of the World Wide Web. 

Police in many cities (especially big ones) are finding themselves increasingly overwhelmed by massive youth gatherings, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. Whereas prior generations had to rely on word of mouth to spread the coordinates of illicit off-radar parties, social media vastly simplifies the process. According to the New York Times, it’s become a “perennial worry” — but with summer on its way, cities are on especially high alert. 

While the large gatherings themselves aren’t necessarily a problem, they frequently escalate into more serious issues. According Chicago P.D. Superintendent Larry Snelling, “Kids just start to fight, so they [the gatherings] get increasingly more violent.”

The sentiment is echoed by residents from other towns and other walks of life. Fifteen- year-old Malaysia McCline remembered stumbling into a teen takeover last month, admitting that “Detroit teens do have a thing for pulling out guns while fighting.” On May 18, for example, a 14-year-old was shot in the chest during a confrontation between two large groups of teens. 

The havoc is often widespread. On May 3 in Oklahoma City, 23 people were injured in a shooting at a lakeside party that was advertised on social media and drew young adults from across the metro area. Less than a week later, 22 people ages 12 to 21 were arrested at a takeover event in Tampa. A few days after that, a Chicago police cruiser was rammed by another vehicle during a teen takeover as onlookers cheered and jumped on the cop car. 

Government, for its part, has taken a wide-ranging approach to dealing with the dangers posed by these events. Officers in Chicago actively monitor social media to identify unsanctioned gatherings before they happen. If they’re unable to prevent them by talking with the organizers or their parents, they’ll often send uniformed officers to the events in an attempt to deter inappropriate behavior.

The academic and activist community has responded differently, often expressing concern that the prevention efforts by police are race-based. Kristin Henning, a Georgetown law professor, pointed out that Black and Latino youth gatherings are more likely to be construed as criminal in nature. 

Not everyone agrees with her take, though. Chuck Thies, a D.C.-based political consultant, explained why average people may have plenty of legitimate reasons to be wary of the takeovers: “Every bar and restaurant, corner store or hamburger shop or pizza slice place, they want customers, and customers don’t come back when there are kids jumping on the hoods of cars, running down the street, knocking people over, threatening people.”

With many analysts noting that these events are driven at least partly by boredom and a craving for socialization after the isolation of the COVID pandemic, combined with a lack of safe places for teens to hang out, some cities are attempting to channel this youthful energy in a more positive direction. In Atlanta, the local government tried to address the issue by encouraging local youths to take ownership. At a recent meeting, two high-schoolers delivered a proposal to create spaces just for juveniles, where they can host charity events, create pop-up shops or do homework. The Mayor’s Office awarded them $50,000 to implement the project. 

Some law enforcement agencies are also providing supervised alternatives. In May, the Tampa Police Department hosted a “Teen Takeover With a Purpose,” a free community event attended by more than 100 families, where teens could interact with officers and community mentors while enjoying food, sports, games, music and raffle prizes. “It’s all about getting to know the officer behind the badge,” Chief Lee Bercaw told Fox 13 News.

Other areas are discussing curfews. After a series of takeovers in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C., erupted into chaos, the mayor instituted 15 days of localized teen curfews under an emergency order. After that expired, the D.C. Council voted to make the measures more permanent, allowing the mayor and police chief broad authority to designate specific curfew zones that prohibit groups of nine or more juveniles without an adult present in popular gathering areas after 8 p.m. However, the change won’t go into effect until late summer. Meanwhile, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. district attorney for D.C., announced on May 15 that her office would “aggressively” prosecute parents whose teens violate curfews to participate in takeovers, warning that they could face fines, court-ordered classes or up to six months of jail time.

The most unique approach to addressing the issue comes from an especially unlikely source: parents. Several months ago, a takeover near the University of Chicago left a wake of destruction after kids jumped on cars and left multiple vehicles badly damaged. When word spread that another takeover was planned a few weeks later, the solution proffered by several dozen citizens was a “parent takeover,” which involved the adults standing outside a coffee shop and monitoring the area. Unsurprisingly, there was no wanton destruction that night.