Communities nationwide are tightening restrictions on teenagers ahead of Halloween weekend, introducing curfews and increasing police presence in an effort to prevent unruly “teen takeovers.”
From New Jersey’s coastal towns to the suburbs of Atlanta, local officials are preparing for large gatherings by setting limits for minors and deploying additional officers. Several of the affected communities are still dealing with the aftermath of previous takeovers that attracted hundreds of teenagers and led to fights, arrests and, in some cases, gunfire.
In Oak Park, Illinois, Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said her department is taking steps to ensure the disorder seen during last year’s Halloween does not happen again.
About 500 teenagers reportedly flooded downtown Oak Park last Halloween. Fights broke out, gunshots were reported and police summoned assistance from six neighboring law enforcement agencies, according to a department memo.
Johnson said Oak Park will place more officers on duty throughout Halloween, along with implementing additional measures designed to discourage another large-scale gathering.
Some adults in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood are also organizing their own response. They plan to gather in large numbers throughout the area in hopes of discouraging teenagers from forming oversized crowds.
Known as CollaBOOration, the group formed after a string of Halloween gatherings between 2016 and 2019 escalated into violence, according to Block Club Chicago.
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“What we’re really trying to do is establish a critical mass on the street, possibly before the Halloween festivities even start,” founder Bennie Currie said.
“So when these large gatherings happen, like we’ve seen every year, we will already have taken over 53rd Street … we’ll be walking up and down in orange shirts and keeping in contact with one another.”
In Covington, Georgia, a city outside Atlanta, anyone under 16 must leave the downtown area by 7 p.m. on Halloween unless accompanied by an adult, CBS News reported.
Long Branch, New Jersey, police also plan to enforce a Halloween curfew for anyone younger than 17. The restriction will be in effect from 8 p.m. on Oct. 31 until 6 a.m. the following morning, according to News 12.
Officials introduced the curfew after hundreds of people gathered for a teen takeover in May, when fights broke out and six people were arrested.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, a spokesperson for the National Police Association, called the stepped-up approach a “great idea,” saying teen takeovers continue to pose a growing challenge for communities and police departments.
“On Halloween night, I can tell you from experience, our call volume goes up, you know, four or five, six times because people are calling because they’re because of fireworks. They’re calling because there’s a fight in a schoolyard. They’re calling because they can’t find their kid. There’s so many different things that people are calling the police for, and then you factor in this desire to have these large crowds of teenagers take over and, again, get it on social media,” Smith said.
