City to Enact Stricter Curfew in Response to Teen Takeovers

The city of Charlotte appears poised to enact a 9 p.m. curfew for all minors throughout the city in response to recent incidents that city leaders are referring to as “teen takeovers.” 

Following incidents at Romare Bearden Park and The Boardwalk at University City that saw between 200-300 teenagers gathering and reportedly disturbing the peace in recent weeks, the city’s Safety Committee on Tuesday unanimously voted to support CMPD’s recommendation for an earlier curfew, sending it to the full Charlotte City Council for approval. 

With council currently in summer recess until August, the body may call a special meeting to enact the new measures sooner.  

Recent teen takeovers in Charlotte

CMPD attorney Jessica Battle played a video montage of news reports about teen takeovers happening locally and around the country set to dramatic music during Tuesday’s committee meeting before leading a presentation on recent takeovers in Charlotte.  

Officers arrested three juveniles and cited nine others with curfew violations after a gathering of nearly 300 teens turned unruly on Saturday, according to CMPD. The three juveniles who were arrested face charges including possession of a firearm by a minor, carrying a concealed weapon, trespassing, resisting arrest, and assault on a police officer. 

Ten parents and guardians were also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor as a result of Saturday’s incident in University City. 

CMPD Chief Estella Patterson on Tuesday cited a teen takeover at Romare Bearden Park on June 14 that ended with the double shooting of two teens aged 15 and 18 at the hands of a 16-year-old suspect. 

Patterson insisted that an attempted takeover at Romare Bearden on July 4 only ended peacefully because the department had deployed 200 officers to oversee the area surrounding the park and neighboring Truist Field during Fourth of July celebrations. She called that level of police presence “unsustainable.” 

As it stands now, a curfew is in effect for children 12 and under beginning at 10 p.m. and teens aged 13-15 beginning at 11 p.m. CMPD officials at Tuesday’s meeting said the current tiered structure makes enforcing the curfew tougher on officers as many children don’t have IDs so are able to give fake names and/or ages. 

There would be certain exceptions to the new curfew, similar to the ones that are in place now: youth who are accompanied by a parent, guardian, or authorized person aged 21 or older; running an errand at a parent or guardian’s direction; going to or from work or carrying out job-related tasks, attending or traveling to or from an official school, religious or recreational activity; or responding to an emergency.

Council members comment

Following CMPD’s presentation on Tuesday, council members had a chance to comment and ask questions. 

“This conversation is not about criminalizing our youth, it is about keeping our community safe, especially our youth,” said Dimple Ajmera. “It’s about preventing violence, supporting our youth, connecting them with the right resources and the right tools before CMPD needs to intervene.” 

Malcolm Graham said he visited the Boardwalk at University City on Sunday and saw that some of the area businesses had been vandalized during the previous night’s incident. 

“It’s an affront to public safety for those who want a safe and secure environment here in the city,” Graham said. “Obviously, when you get a crowd of 200 to 300 [people], there’s more than one or two or three bad actors and they bring weapons and they cause death and destruction, so we have to be very proactive in putting an ordinance in place.” 

Ed Driggs called on CMPD to go after the organizers of these events, which are usually started through a flyer that spreads on social media. A CMPD rep said the department has in certain instances been able to reach an organizer through contact info on the flyer but that’s not often possible. 

Dante Anderson called on the city to create more spaces for teens to gather.

“Our youth are really crying out for safe third spaces,” said Anderson. “Outside of home and outside of school, there’s really no place for them to go. I love that they’re going outside, I love that they’re not indoors, they’re getting fresh air, they’re getting outside, we just need to have those safe spaces where they can do it in an environment that is protected and that adults have oversight.” 

Creating opportunities for youth

Officials at Tuesday’s meeting highlighted a number of programs and initiatives that are underway throughout the city to provide young people with safer spaces to gather and socialize. 

Graham extolled Impact Camp, a free weeklong camp for local boys aged 8-13 launched by developer and community leader Shawn Kennedy where Graham says he’ll be helping lead tennis lessons next week. 

Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation recently launched its Teen Summer Jam series, happening every Friday night in July at Eastway Regional Recreation Center from 6:30-11 p.m. Teens are invited to hang out, play sports and video games, have some food, make music in a recording booth or any number of other offerings. Registration is required. 

“When you hear about teen takeovers, people’s thoughts on solving that issue are not, ‘Let’s throw a party for them,’” said Gabe Hackney, recreation manager at Eastway Regional Recreation Center. “We’re showing a different way that can be done — where you engage in a positive way and provide a safe place.” 

About 200 young people attended the first Teen Summer Pool Jam at Ray’s Splash Planet on June 26, with staff transporting participants from six rec centers across the county.

“It’s a reflection of retention,” Park and Rec superintendent Justin Jackson. “Those kids had a great time going to the pool party, and they’re like, ‘What’s next?’”

Earlier this year, the city of Charlotte partnered with marketing agency CMRignite and local youth mentoring organization My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte-Mecklenburg (MBKCM) to launch The 704 Way. 

Ricky Singh, executive director with MBKCM, described The 704 Way as a collaborative, youth-led movement designed to disrupt cycles of violence by empowering youths to become the architects of Charlotte’s peace-building strategy, according to MBKCM executive director Ricky Singh.

Read more: The 704 Way Project Tackles Youth Violence in Charlotte

Aiden Treus, a senior at Cato Middle College High School and Youth Advisory Board member with The 704 Way, said he’d like to see young people and adult organizers putting together more events that provide teens with something to do. 

“This past weekend, everyone’s just in University, no one’s really doing anything. They’re just walking around,” Treus told Queen City Nerve. “Idle time is the devil’s hour, so making an event where they’re doing something … that keeps them occupied, that takes them out of trouble.” 

Treus pointed to collaborative art pop-ups like one The 704 Way hosted at The Archive CLT on July 8, in which teens customized pairs of Vans sneakers, shorts and umbrellas. 

“Teens want to gather, adults want to gather; adults end up going to breweries in Charlotte … but I think for kids we’re thinking about, well, what can we provide them creatively?” Singh said. “We know our next generation of youth in our city, our creatives, they’re interested in different things … That pop up wasn’t about Vans, it was about the opportunity for them to connect and be with each other and do something cool.” 

Singh emphasized that it’s up to not just city leaders and law enforcement but nonprofits, grassroots organizers and the business community to all come together to provide opportunities and safe spaces for Charlotte’s youth.

“I don’t think it’s a magic wand; it’s not going to be one solution,” he said. “After all, peace is something communities have been striving for and trying to figure out for thousands of years.”