Dolton Village Board members voted Monday to institute a 9 p.m. curfew after police reported five large youth gatherings, sometimes called teen takeovers, in the village this summer.
Police Chief Jeffrey Chapman said officers have sought to learn more about the teenagers involved through questioning those arrested in violation of the village’s past curfew hours or committing other crimes.
Despite not seeing any major incidents tied to teen gatherings, shots were fired near officers during one large gathering and police recovered an assault rifle from a teenager at another, Chapman said.
“There is no effective one strategy to handle these teen takeovers,” he said.
Chapman said police have seen anywhere between 300 and 600 youth during gatherings.
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“And when you are kind of playing the cat and mouse game with these kids up and down Sibley (Boulevard) and through the residential neighborhoods, it becomes a problem and it’s very challenging for officers.”
Dolton’s previously set curfew hours for all minors from 11 p.m. through 6 a.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and from midnight through 6 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, according to the ordinance. The new curfew, as of Monday, prevents children under 18 from being without adult supervision from 9 p.m. through 6 a.m. every day, including weekends.
The village also added a penalty for violations, with fines for each offense ranging from $250 to $2,500.
Mayor Jason House thanked Chapman and other officers for their efforts to restore order following teen takeovers. He said the curfew adjustment and added penalty for violations will provide police with “another mechanism during teen takeovers and help to weed out undesirable individuals from the community.”
“It’ll be up to the chief’s discretion on what level of strict enforcement will be done versus passive,” House said. “However, in the event of a teen takeover or something, it gives us the vehicle to further assist the officers in their efforts.”
The measure was approved by the Village Board 7-0.
Chicago area officials remain divided on their responses to teen takeovers. Last summer, police across Flossmoor, Posen, Orland Park and other surrounding areas attempted to create protocols for responding to the large gatherings.
The Blue Island City Council approved an ordinance last month holding parents and guardians whose children are involved in teen takeovers responsible for the cost of repairing or replacing damaged city property, along with other associated costs such as city emergency, police or public works responses.
Blue Island officials justified the penalties in the ordinance, stating it is unlawful for a custodial parent or legal guardian to fail in exercising parental responsibility by allowing the minor to commit city ordinance violations and any other willful or malicious acts.
Chicago city leaders have considered other solutions such as job programs, better social media regulation, city-sponsored social events, snap curfews and parental liability ordinances. Mayor Brandon Johnson has looked to provide area youth with perennial opportunities such as summertime job opportunities and free memberships to city YMCAs for 12- to 18-year-olds.
Chapman said Monday police heard of plans for eight teen takeover events in Dolton this year, five of which actually came to fruition. Police and Dolton Park District officials in some cases sent out notices ahead of planned events warning of risks and potential consequences to participating.
Hazel Crest olice took a different approach after a gathering of a few hundred teenagers at a park for a graduation celebration June 1, highlighting police officers’ presence in a news release as “facilitators in ensuring the young people had a safe and enjoyable time, not as an authoritative force.”
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“The young people that chose to have a peaceful gathering that allowed them to have safe fun should be commended,” the news release stated.
But Chapman said Dolton police have found many of the teens who participate in gatherings there are actually from the village. He said while the rise in teen takeovers has placed an additional strain on officers, “they jump in and know what to do, and do it professionally and do it in the correct way.”
“Of the teens that we have had to encounter, to take them in for some type of citation or violation, only two have been Dolton residents,” Chapman said. “So it’s very apparent our Dolton kids got something to do other than teen takeovers.”