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An expert in crime prevention and reduction told Fox News Digital that the recent rash of urban organized street takeovers leaves residents in fear, and feeling like authorities don’t have control over the streets they are supposed to protect.
“Whether you’re having dinner or studying or getting ready to go to bed, they’re loud. They’re disorganized. They’re not good for the neighborhood or the city,” said John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Peter Moskos. “And it also gives the perception, rooted in reality in this case, that nobody’s in control.”
Over the past few weeks, there have been at least nine such high-profile incidents across the country.
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Moskos was a police officer in Baltimore’s Eastern District, a notoriously rough part of the city, before becoming an academic. He is also the author of the recently-published book “Back from the Brink: Inside the NYPD and New York City’s Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop.”
“And that creates fear,” Moskos continued. “It creates a disconnect with what you expect government to be able to do, which is to, at a basic extent, just maintain public order.
“They’re dangerous to the public. They’re dangerous to participants,” he said. “But there’s also the quality of life factors that if you live near where this is happening repeatedly, you just simply don’t want it happening.”
On Aug. 9, around 50 vehicles wreaked havoc outside the Crypto.com Arena, home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, doing donuts and burnouts while onlookers set off fireworks and shot paintball guns at vehicles, according to KTLA.
Two people also reportedly broke into a storefront and looted merchandise during the event.
Stemming from a recent street takeover in Carson, California, part of Los Angeles County, authorities reportedly arrested 64 spectators and towed 25 vehicles. Two vehicles were impounded for 30 days and eight traffic citations were issued.
Moskos said the first step to tackling the phenomenon is to understand why it’s happening. He said it has become “cool” in the eyes of the participants, and that one way to make street takeovers uncool again is for politicians to have the will to crack down on the practice.
“The politicians in charge need to say this is unacceptable, and we’re going to end it. It is possible to end that. We can change culture. We can certainly stop people from engaging in this one activity, but there are gonna be consequences,” he said.
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Social media plays a role in the continued trend.
“Given that everyone has a phone, there is going to be social media attention to this. But that is part of the appeal,” he said.
On Aug. 13, 200 bikers took to the streets in Tampa, Florida, swerving through traffic and on sidewalks, flying through intersections and doing wheelies.
“We definitely felt that there was an extreme danger at that point, and we needed to address it,” said Tampa Police Major Les Richardson,” according to FOX 13.
On Aug. 16, “hundreds of people and cars” swarmed Home Depot, In-N-Out and Target parking lots in what was described as an “illegal” street takeover in Seaside, California, according to KSBW. The local police department said it is planning enforcement actions for future takeovers.
On the same day, 100 cyclists, e-bike and dirt bike riders took over a Boston highway, terrifying local drivers. The incident resulted in a collision with a Massachusetts State Police vehicle. Only one person was arrested.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, police announced on X that 98 people were arrested during the week of Aug. 11 for their roles in numerous street takeovers throughout the city.
“Here we are again… because apparently some folks still think turning intersections into racetracks is a good idea. We’re here to remind you – it’s NOT. Still illegal. Still dangerous. Still getting shut down,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. “Street stunts have consequences! And we’ll be here to remind you of that, every time.”
Along with the arrests, police said numerous vehicles have been seized in connection with the takeovers.
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On Aug. 18, the Dallas Police Department, which has a Street Racing Task Force, responded to a street takeover that included a “large group of motorcycles, dirt bikes and off-road vehicles doing stunts, blocking both directions of travel, and driving dangerously.”
Police said that 30 citations were issued for various violations of license, registration and insurance laws. 12 e-bikes and dirt bikers were seized.
“We enforce Texas laws to keep our streets safe,” said Major Gabriel Candelaria, commander of the Northeast Patrol Division. “Our streets are not a stage for stunt driving and reckless behavior.”
As for solutions, Moskos said that if the culture doesn’t change, other methods can be explored.
“Maybe the answer is putting physical obstacles in certain places when it’s safe to do so,” he said. “And again, these have to be figured out at the local level, and again, ideally in cooperation with neighborhood groups, with other city agencies. But it is something that we can police our way out of.”
In early August, a Cleveland City Councilman, Michael Polensek, witnessed and video recorded a street takeover in the city, according to Cleveland 19 News. He observed multiple vehicles without license plates taking part in the charade.
A 911 caller reportedly said “approximately 500 dirt bikes are blocking three gas stations.”
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“Charge them for going through the red lights, charge them for endangering motorists — go after these people because unless you do that, it’s not going to stop and someone is going to get hurt, and someone’s going to get killed,” Polensek told the news outlet.
In Cincinnati, 17 cars were involved in an early August street takeover. Four vehicles were impounded stemming from that incident.
All in all, the crackdowns will have to continue until street takeover ringleaders and participants are totally deterred.
“You can’t just say one and done and say, look, we arrested 100 people, therefore it’s a success. No, in a way, you arrested 100 people, [and] that was a failure,” said Moskos. “It might be the path toward success, but you just have to keep it up till people change their behavior. I mean the thing about policing is it is a verb, and it’s not always done by police. But you’re trying to police behavior and it can be done.”
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