At a time of increased isolation, fewer opportunities for socialization and a growing desire for communal spaces of connection and belonging, “teen takeovers” are gaining attention in the news.
In cities nationwide, including Detroit, Washington, D.C. and Chicago, large groups of teenagers have been organizing spaces to meet up en masse, usually later at night. On its own, the initiative, leadership and community-building efforts these youth are showing in executing large-scale group gatherings should receive positive news attention. But the reality has proven different: these gatherings have seen harsh police response, negative reception from the widespread public and worry from community members, partly because of real incidents of violence that have occurred during some of these meetups.
Recreation, play and socialization are essential to healthy development in kids. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in our youth losing some of the traditional outlets for kids to be kids, with many stores, community centers and other third spaces closing in the last six years. Across Michigan, adults have been rebuilding social spaces for themselves such as book clubs, fitness groups, neighborhood events, coffee meetups and volunteer projects. Young people need their own version of that, too.
It is little surprise that, in response to growing isolation and frustration, as school ends and summer begins, teenagers have taken the initiative to try to make room for themselves in public spaces. Yet too often, public conversations about young people are driven by sensational headlines that portray youth as increasingly out of control or inherently dangerous. The data tells a different story. Arrests of youth under 18 peaked in 1995 and have declined by more than 75% since then. Rather than viewing every large gathering of teenagers through a lens of fear, we should recognize that most young people are doing what generations before them have done: seeking connection and community. While harmful behavior should be addressed appropriately, isolated incidents should not define an entire generation.
Research has repeatedly raised serious doubts about whether youth curfews prevent crime. What we know for sure is that shutting young people out of public spaces without giving them safe alternatives does not solve the underlying problem.
One promising example is Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield’s creation of a Youth Cabinet, which ensures that young people have a seat at the table as city leaders navigate issues that affect them. Too often, adults develop solutions for youth without meaningfully including them in the conversation. Creating formal opportunities for young people to weigh in on city decisions recognizes them not as problems to be managed, but as partners in building stronger, safer communities.
Efforts like these work best when they are part of a broader ecosystem of support — safe recreation, family support, violence prevention, workforce development, credible messengers and sustained investment in opportunities that give young people connection, belonging and purpose. If we want young people to feel ownership over their communities, we have to create real pathways for them to help shape those communities, not just respond to rules they had no hand in making.
Our success in achieving community safety depends as much on what we get wrong as what we get right. We won’t succeed if we sensationalize news stories to stoke fears about teen gatherings. We won’t get there by deprioritizing the basic social needs of our children and taking an ineffective, harsh and expensive approach when harm occurs. We fall even further from building community safety when implicit biases about youth of color drive our interventions, or when we demonize the many for the actions of a few.
Our youth are telling us what they need from us. They need safety, yes. So do their families, neighbors and business owners. However, safety will not come from treating every gathering as a threat or every young person as a problem. It will come from listening early, investing consistently and building communities where young people have somewhere to go, something meaningful to do and someone supporting them when they get there.
Jason Smith is executive director of the Michigan Center for Youth Justice. Kristin Henning is director, of the Georgetown Law Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative, Mary Ann Scali is executive director of The Gault Center: Defenders of Youth Rights.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Teen takeovers are a sign we need more spaces for young people | Opinion
Reporting by Jason Smith, Kristin Henning and Mary Ann Scali / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jason Smith, Kristin Henning and Mary Ann Scali | USA TODAY Network
