Pittsburgh doesn't anticipate problems with teen takeovers during Fourth of July celebrations

The Fourth of July fireworks always bring a big crowd to Downtown Pittsburgh, and if you're going this year, you may notice heightened security. Here and around the country, cities are grappling with teen takeovers — young people arranging on social media to get together, sometimes getting in confrontations with citizens and the police. 

The nation's 250th anniversary is expected to bring a bigger crowd than usual to the Point, and the city's new Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams wants to ensure a good time is had by all, despite recent problems with disruptive youth.

"We are maximally preparing for any and everything that we could experience," Williams said. "We want to strongly communicate that we want people to have fun but we're ready to respond appropriately if necessary."

This spring and summer have brought a new kind of challenge to the young administration: teen takeovers. Cities across the country have seen large gatherings pre-arranged on social media that have turned disruptive. In Pittsburgh, police used pepper spray to break up a crowd of 400 at East Liberty's Green Park and moved in again when a Juneteenth gathering in Market Square erupted in fights.

"I think it's important to note we've shut down a lot of them before things have gotten crazy," said Assistant Public Safety Director Cornell Jones. 

Jones says the city is trying to get ahead of the trend by monitoring social media and other methods.    

"We keep up with stuff," Jones said. "That's the best way to put it. We keep up with stuff. We have a lot of eyes and ears all over the place."

But in addition to the takeovers, businesses and visitors complain of a steady uptick of less organized groups of young people hanging out Downtown. These groups are now banned from Market Square under the chaperone policy, but businesses blame them for a recent string of street assaults as well as chronic problems of shoplifting.

The city has responded by adding more officers to Downtown and the South Side, but Williams says that while police supply a presence, respond to incidents and restore calm, increased patrols only go so far.

"Dispatching law enforcement only will never solve this issue," Williams said. "We realize that. We're part of the solution, but we partner in meaningful ways." 

The Highland Detention Center at Shuman still has only 12 detention beds, and police complain they're arresting the most serious young offenders time and again. But Williams says the city must also address the complaints of young people who say they have nothing to do and no welcoming place to go. He's reaching out to community organizations to provide spaces and activities.

"We're looking at ways of better linking those entities and those organizations together to find out what is happening in different communities so we can direct kids into those spaces," Williams said. 

"They want some type of structure," Jones said. "They want some type of protection. They do want to have fun, but they want to be in a situation where they know it's going to be safe."

The city does not anticipate problems on Saturday night but will be prepared for any eventuality. Meanwhile, the challenge of redirecting troubled youth will remain a work in progress.