Letter to Sheffield offers glimpse into youth gathering response
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Detroit's basketball league, part of Occupy the Summer. Photo: Courtesy of the city of Detroit via Flickr
The Downtown Detroit Partnership urged Mayor Mary Sheffield's administration in May to take stronger action against troublesome youth gatherings that had raised concerns among downtown businesses, per a letter from the group obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The letter captures early anxiety around the time of highly publicized spring "teen takeovers."
State of play: Sheffield's safety strategy this spring and summer has combined curfew enforcement and heightened police presence with an intense focus on youth engagement.
- That includes Occupy the Summer programming, neighborhood outreach and meetings with youth event organizers.
Zoom out: Cities nationwide are shifting policing strategies in response to social media-fueled takeovers that have occasionally turned violent.
Yes, but: Juvenile justice experts like Georgetown Law professor Kristin Henning have argued against sensationalizing and treating all gatherings as criminal, per NPR.
- Attention to these gatherings has also led to discussions on cities needing to provide more safe, free activities and welcoming spaces for young people.
Zoom in: Teferi Brent, director of Sheffield's Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety, rejects the "teen takeover" framing in Detroit.
- He says Detroit hasn't had them, but has experienced a couple of isolated incidents. These haven't seen the level of violence or disruption reported in other cities, he says, crediting Sheffield's administration for preventing larger incidents through youth engagement.
- DDP CEO Eric Larson also tells Axios he is encouraged that Detroit has dealt with gatherings constructively and has not experienced property destruction.
Behind the scenes: Larson's May letter addressed to Sheffield and her team followed a May 18 virtual meeting with downtown residents, employers, property owners and retailers concerned about public safety perceptions and economic impacts.
- They thanked Sheffield's team for their work, but also sought "immediate, proactive and sustained intervention" to "restore confidence in downtown."
- The letter suggested strengthening enforcement of existing laws dealing with disorderly conduct, noise and curfews, and evaluating tools used in other cities like face covering restrictions and small-area emergency curfews.
Alongside and since the letter, DDP has had multiple conversations with the mayor, her team and police.
- "As a whole, people are feeling very, very good and confident about the kind of response and support we have seen," Larson told Axios in late June.
The bottom line: " … We were able to turn the whole takeover narrative into kickbacks and gatherings and activations, and we were able to create safe, healthy places for young people that they were happy to be a part of and participate in," Brent tells Axios. "We have to continue to support our families, we have to continue to support our young people."
- Larson says he's ready to move on from the spring incidents to talk about "all the positive stuff that's happening" in Detroit.