- Credibility:
CHICAGO — Police will be ready to deploy officers and prison vans Downtown if there are more large meetups of young people this summer, officials said Friday.
For years, teens and young adults have flocked Downtown in the spring and summer for large meetups. The first meetup this year, in mid-April, was accompanied by violence: Two teens were shot and wounded, and a pair was “attacked at random” and robbed near one of the shootings.
Alds. Brian Hopkins (2nd) and Brendan Reilly (42nd), who represent Downtown, said police and the CTA were unprepared.
Brian McDermott, the Police Department’s chief of operations, said Friday that first meetup was “kind of the perfect storm for some of the things that happened,” but police are now ready for future gatherings.
Officers in mid-April didn’t have information young people were going to gather Downtown, and it took police “a while to mobilize resources,” McDermott said at a Friday news conference where he and other officials talked about the city’s summer safety plans.
Now, “we will have a contingent of additional resources Downtown at all times in the event the teens do show up we’ll be ready to deploy quicker,” McDermott said.
Police will be able to scale the size of their response as needed if there are meetups, McDermott said. They’ll send officers back to the residential neighborhoods if they’re not needed Downtown, he said.
There will also be more supervisors, including captains, on hand during youth meetups Downtown, McDermott said.
And police will bring multiple prison vans Downtown when youths gather, as officers think young people “changed their behavior” when they’ve seen the vans in the past, McDermott said.
“I don’t think anyone here is suggesting that we go out and lock up every teen that’s Downtown dancing in the street,” McDermott said. “I think what we can do better is identifying those who are engaged in criminal activity and placing those in custody.”
RELATED: South Side Group Wants To Beef Up Teen Programs After Youth Gatherings Downtown Turned Violent
The Police Department has had planning sessions with the city’s emergency communications agency and the CTA to strategize how they’ll respond to Downtown gatherings, McDermott said. They will set up transportation for young people to leave the Downtown area, he said.
Officials want people who work, live and visit Downtown to feel safe, McDermott said.
“Just know that there is a plan. No matter how often this happens, it’s never gonna look pretty, it’s never gonna be perfect and it’s always gonna be chaotic,” McDermott said. “We can have the best plan in place and it’s still gonna look pretty chaotic.”
Youth curfews — including one at Millennium Park — will remain in place, and there will be bag searches at the park, McDermott said.
How to handle large meetups of young people Downtown and at city beaches and parks has been a controversial topic for years.
Young people and youth outreach workers have stressed that youth need safe places to gather and officials should invest in programs that can empower youth and prevent violence.
Police are also interested in investments in youth programs and other things to decrease violence overall, McDermott said.
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson said in a statement “destructive activity” has no place in Chicago but defended young people’s ability to gather.
In a statement last weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city “cannot and will not allow any of our public spaces to become a platform for criminal conduct.” Police Department leaders have told her they will “make the necessary adjustments these teen trends issues” as Chicago gets closer to summer, she said.
“Many of [the young people gathering] were there to have a good time and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather,” Lightfoot said in her statement. “However, some of those young people were involved in reckless, disrespectful and unlawful behavior.
“… Parents and guardians must know where their children are and be responsible for their actions. Instilling the important values of respect for people and property must begin at home.”
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