Former Detroit police chief speaks on city's strategy for addressing teen takeovers

Detroit's former top cop is criticizing the mayor's strategy to stop so-called "teen takeovers" downtown.

James Craig's comments come after several hundred teens swarmed downtown again over the weekend.

Craig says he's disturbed by how frequently these teen takeovers are happening with teens still being in school and is calling on police to take a more proactive approach.

"These young people are using social media. That's not a secret. We have analysts we should know in real time where these folks are at," said Craig.

Craig says men and women in uniform need to be where the takeovers are said to be taking place to shut down any disruption before it happens, like he says he and his department did when young drivers were taking part in the 2020 nationwide drifting trend.

"Young people were taking cars and taking over intersections," said Craig. "There were immediate consequences; we started not just arresting but impounding vehicles."

"The overwhelming majority of young people want a safe experience, but what I believe deeply and what I heard directly from our young people is that enforcement alone is not the answer," said Mayor Mary Sheffield.

Sheffield held a news conference on Friday to address the teen takeovers in Detroit, with DPD by her side and the teens who say they organized the meet-ups in Detroit.

She and the police are calling on parents to check in with their teens to make sure they follow curfew and to meet up with their friends at the soon-to-be teen meetups the city is coordinating.

Craig says if the teen takeovers continue in Detroit, it could keep people away.

"People who want to come in the nice starting now in the summer want to go to a nice restaurant downtown Detroit and opt not to go because they don't feel it is a safe environment, and what impact is that going to have on businesses?" he said.

A spokesperson from Sheffield's office released a statement to CBS News Detroit, saying, "The outstanding young teens who stood with the mayor last week had no role in this past weekend's teen gathering downtown, which was only a fraction of the size of the previous weekend. 

The one notable incident caught on video was easily broken up by DPD before it could escalate into something more serious. 

"As we work to finalize a holistic youth engagement strategy to roll out later this week, we also are meeting with business owners to address their understandable concerns," the spokesperson said.

Detroit police also released a statement Monday:

"The Detroit Police Department does not fear our youth. We love our youth and we are here to support them and protect them. However, we are still calling on our parents to do their parts in ensuring the safety of our children by making sure your child is not on the streets after curfew and when they do go outside to hang out with their peers, that they are behaving appropriately and not causing disruption," said DPD spokesperson Jasmin Barmore. "Additionally, we also want to remind parents that curfew for our juveniles 15 and under is 10 p.m., and for 16- and 17-year-olds, curfew is at 11 p.m. We expect them to be off the streets at the designated curfew time."