The word was out. In mid-April, teenagers intended to amass in large numbers on 53rd Street in Hyde Park in what Chicagoans have learned to dread — the so-called teen takeover.

Hyde Park had been through this just two weeks before. On March 30, a mob of teens gathered in the same spot and ran wild for hours, jumping on cars and leaving multiple vehicles badly damaged and residents fuming.

Afterward, a group of parents asked their police district to alert them the next time. And that opportunity came quickly. On April 12, police alerted the parent group that another teen takeover in the area was planned for April 14.

This time, the community was prepared.

With the blessing of the Chicago Police Department, Karen Calloway, principal of Kenwood Academy High School in the neighborhood, along with school staffers and dozens of parents congregated along 53rd Street before the teens arrived. The teenagers did indeed show up, but this time a mob of adults was there to greet them and watch them to ensure trouble didn’t get started.

And, lo and behold, trouble didn’t. Start, that is.

One teenage boy, upon arriving, raised his fists and called out, “Parent takeover, parent takeover,” according to the Hyde Park Herald. Another, stepping off the bus with a couple of friends, looked around and asked, “Where’s the trend?”

Instead of teens marauding through the neighborhood and damaging property, groups of friends got ice cream and slushies and enjoyed an unseasonably warm spring evening in the neighborhood.

These teen takeovers can lead to outcomes far worse than dented cars, of course. People die. In late November, after the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Millennium Park, 14-year-old Armani Floyd was shot multiple times and died during an out-of-control teen gathering downtown. On the same night, another seven teens were injured by gunfire right by the Chicago Theatre. A 17-year-old boy was charged in February with multiple counts of attempted murder, among other charges, in the Chicago Theatre shooting.

We met recently with CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling and had a chance to ask him about the so-called parent takeover in Hyde Park and whether similarly direct parent involvement could help police in other neighborhoods as well.

Snelling enthusiastically approved and surprised us with this counterintuitive observation.

“A lot of these young people don’t necessarily fear the police,” he said. “They’re not concerned about the police. But I think a lot of them would be more concerned if they saw their parents or their teachers there who could identify them and what they’re doing. … Now you have people you’re going to have to look at every day when you go home or every single day when you go to school.”

When we thought about it, what Snelling said made perfect sense. Mobs give people, whether teens or adults, the power of anonymity and encourage some of them to act in ways they never would if someone they knew could see them. Particularly an authority figure.

We asked the chief if the Hyde Park parent takeover is something that can be replicated in other Chicago neighborhoods.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “I would welcome it 100%.”

So, Chicago parents, here’s your chance to get involved and make your city safer. Those of you with an organizational skill or proclivity, don’t be shy. But, also, make sure to coordinate with CPD. Take it upon yourself to reach out to Chicago police and be ready to mobilize to keep a teen takeover coming to your neighborhood from turning into another tragedy. Communicate with your neighbors and fellow parents.

CPD generally gets an alert a couple of days beforehand of a teen takeover that’s planned. Teens use social media to get the word out.

With a little planning, coordination and effort, Chicagoans can make their city a bit more livable and ensure, too, that their kids are safe when they get together with friends. And, in a socially atomized world where neighbors sometimes don’t know each other’s names, they can strengthen the ties in their community in the process.

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