Arresting and citing teens for violations of public order is more effective than letters home to mom and dad
The Chicago Police Department is taking a new track to deal with teenage lawbreaking by sending a letter home to parents of Chicago Public Schools' students, warning them of the potential problem of teen takeovers.
With the winter temperatures finally winding down and warm weather in the offing, Chicago law enforcement is once again faced with the threat of the mass teen takeovers that have left chaos and even bloodshed in their wake over the last few years. And the CPD is still struggling to find the best way to confront the threats.
Already this year there has been bloodshed during some of these teen takeovers. In March, police responded to a shooting near 400 North Cityfront Plaza Drive where a 15-year-old suffered a graze wound to the leg.
Only weeks later, in mid-April, Streeterville found itself the object of more unrest as e-mails started showing up urging teens to launch another takeover. This time, though, a CPD response seemed to have staved off the incident.
The threat, however, is not over, with one success: The CPD is now moving to extend its warning to the city by trying to get parents involved.
"To protect your children’s safety, the Chicago Police Department strongly encourages parents to refrain from allowing youth to attend these events," the letter reads, according to WGN-TV.
The letter noted that sources informed Chicago Police that Chicago's beaches were the rumored target of the next wild swarming of teens.
"While beaches can be informal and relaxed places for young people to connect, it’s important to remember that these spaces come with specific safety concerns and restrictions," the letter from the CPD added.
CPD officials added that curfews will be enforced and arrests would be made if the takeovers hit any of the city's beaches any time soon. The letter also reminded parents that Chicago's beaches don't open until May 23.
"We want our young people to explore and enjoy the great city they live in. But large, unsupervised gatherings promoted on social media are not the best way to do that," CPD explained.
Chicago Police repeated the response to Streeterville by increasing its presence at the beaches they said were in the target sights of teens. And, fortunately, no takeovers occurred, WLS-TV reported.
CPD is also beginning to reach out to community groups for the first time.
The CPD has all too often responded weakly to these takeovers, often with a minimal presence. And it doesn't help that city hall has not exactly been a great help to head off future teen gatherings.
Mayor Brandon Johnson's office still hasn't even tried to define was these takeovers are to help the CPD come up with its response plans. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Johnson's office has not even tried to characterize what a takeover is and the numbers needed to trigger a police response.
2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins is suggesting that a potential takeover could be considered 20 or more teens gathered at once. His proposal would define such an event as "a gathering of 20 or more people in a public place for the purpose of engaging in, or is likely to result in, criminal conduct, including reckless conduct … disorderly conduct … or that otherwise presents or causes, or is likely to present or cause an unreasonable risk to public health, safety, or welfare."
The proposal would then give the local police commander the power to change curfews and ramp up a police presence among other measures.
But, clearly, despite the fact that these wild street takeovers have been going on for years, now, City Hall and the police have still not come together for a plan to deal with the issue.
The solutions seem obvious. As Contrarian has already noted, the simple act of ramping up police protection during such events can discourage teens from going wild. CPD's efforts in Streeterville seem to bear this out.
So, why won't the mayor and his progressive allies make the right decisions and fully authorize the CPD to respond the way it should be allowed to?
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Warner Todd Huston | Facebook, X at @WTHuston, or Truth Social at @WarnerToddHuston.
