# Cities Put Teens on Notice for Halloween Weekend With Curfews and Extra Patrols After Past Takeovers Ended in Fights and Arrests

From Oak Park, Illinois, to Long Branch, New Jersey, officials are adding officers and enforcing curfews. A Chicago neighborhood group plans to fill the streets in orange shirts.

- Section: [Border & Security](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/border-security/)
- Published: 2026-10-31
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/cities-halloween-teen-takeover-curfews-oak-park-long-branch-covington-hyde-park-collaboration-fox-news/

Police and city officials across the country are trying to get ahead of Halloween "teen takeovers," Fox News reports.

Oak Park, Illinois. Last Halloween an estimated 500 teens swarmed downtown, fights and gunshots broke out, and six neighboring agencies were called in, according to a department memo. Chief Shatonya Johnson said her department is adding officers on shift this year, along with other measures meant to prevent a repeat.

Long Branch, New Jersey. Police say they will strictly enforce a curfew on Oct. 31 for anyone under 17, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The curfew follows a May takeover that drew hundreds of people, led to fights and ended with six arrests.

Covington, Georgia. Outside Atlanta, anyone under 16 in the downtown area after 7 p.m. on Halloween must go home or be with an adult, according to CBS News.

Hyde Park, Chicago. A neighborhood group called CollaBOOration formed after a run of violent Halloween gatherings from 2016 to 2019, Block Club Chicago reports. Founder Bennie Currie said the aim is a "critical mass" of adults on 53rd Street before the festivities start, walking in orange shirts and staying in contact.

The police view. Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith of the National Police Association called the early action a "great idea" and said takeovers are not slowing down. She said call volume on Halloween night rises "four or five, six times" because of fireworks, schoolyard fights and parents who cannot find their kids, and that large crowds organized for social media add to the load.

Note for readers: the report is a roundup of announced local measures. It does not say how many cities have adopted curfews overall or what the outcomes will be. Smith's multiplier is her estimate from experience.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/us/cities-fearing-halloween-mayhem-put-teens-notice-announce-curfews-crackdowns-violent-takeovers)