Over 100 officers of the Houston Police Department “broke up what is being called a teen takeover" in the city’s Discovery Green” last weekend. “Officials said it took hours to clear as many as 600 teenagers from the downtown area… One teen is facing a charge for unlawful carry of a weapon” (I thought it was a crime NOT to possess a weapon in Texas).
Also, “five others were arrested for trespassing.” Trespassing? Houston government describes Discovery Green “as a village green for our city, a source of health and happiness for our citizens, and a window into the incredible diversity of arts, talents and traditions that enrich life in Houston… with hundreds of events a year” by the Project for Public Spaces “which are FREE and open to the public.”
So, after spending “hours” chasing 600 people around, the Houston PD arrested just 6, 5 on bogus nothing-charges. But, okay, teens, your bad. You should have secured your FREE, open-to-the-public event space at the city’s “village green” to pursue “health and happiness” guaranteed by the city’s “Project for Public Spaces.”
Ha, ha, I’m joking of course. Houston officialdom led by cops make it clear young people, especially in groups, especially when darkly pigmented (whisper that last part), are a feared, hated population not welcome in public spaces.
Just to nail down the point: “Police said their purpose was to prevent youths from joining other nearby venues, specifically the ongoing FIFA Fan Fest location.”
Again, why? Like Discovery Green, The World Cup’s FIFA Fan Festival says it celebrates “Houston’s rich diversity… free of charge” and “open to everyone.”
The City of Houston needs a new comedy writer. The current one just keeps repeating the same unfunny joke over and over.
Teens are not remotely Houston’s crime problem
So far in 2026, the Houston Police Department has arrested 10,645 people on criminal charges, from violent to property to public order crimes. Here are their ages:
· 29% are ages 30-39
· 28% are ages 20-29
· 19% are ages 40-49
· 10% are under age 20
· 9% are ages 50-59
· 5% are ages 60 and older.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer.
For all ages, 52% of Houston’s arrestees are Black, and one-third are Hispanic. That means nearly all teens arrested are Nonwhite.
I know this is getting boring, but every city shows the same pattern: panic and mass officer response to “teen takeovers” even if less trouble is occurring than at similar grownup gatherings. Had Houston’s mostly-teen crowd of hundreds actually joined the FIFA soccer celebrations, their conduct indicates they would have brought crime potential down.
They hardly could have caused worse trouble than New York City’s grownup Knicks mobs. Unlike Houston, New York City had real problems stemming from celebrations during the Knicks’ winning NBA championship series, including at least one fatal shooting:
“Large fights broke out, people set off fireworks, climbed on light poles and scaffolding, and blocked traffic for hours, officials said. Five school buses were destroyed by people lighting fires, swinging bats and jumping on them, according to police… People in the crowd also took bats to five NYPD vehicles and jumped on them, shattering front and back windows, officials said. A number of personal vehicles were destroyed as well… Ten NYPD members were injured in the chaos, according to officials. One was punched in the face and another struck with a glass bottle.”
Imagine the body count if the Knicks had lost!
Removing tongue from cheek…
All the above said, of course I don’t advocate banning all public celebrations because a few people get out of hand, whether 63 adults in a crowd of tens of thousands, or one teenager in a crowd of 600.
What should be abolished are ageist, race-coded double standards. Note how differently police describe problematic adult celebrations (“The NYPD wants New Yorkers to be able to enjoy these celebrations, but … large crowds of people …engaged in incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior”) versus the blanket media and police condemnation of what they brand “teen takeovers” (“Do not participate in this this… dangerous ‘challenge’ being presented to youths via social media… you can get hurt, other people can get hurt and you can be subject to arrest”) even when objectively less troublesome.
My solution will probably offend both sides. Adults have to get over our reflexive fear and hostility toward youths in public, including dark-skinned youths, individually or in groups. Police, politicians, reporters, and “experts,” pull your heads out of the past.
In the teen generation of today’s parents 30 years ago – and you may find this as hard to believe as I do – FBI statistics from city police show 10 times more Houston teenagers were arrested for criminal offenses (one-fourth the city’s total) every year in the early 1990s than were arrested in 2025 (just one-tenth) – and Houston had half a million fewer people back then. (Read that again!) New York and other cities and towns have experienced similar declines in teen offending as crime has shifted upward to the mid-30s – a trend authorities are having terrible trouble admitting.
So, the solution to both the “teen takeover” and “grownup takeover” issues is clear: provide a legal pathway giving teenagers access to public space the same as afforded adults. Shockingly, most cities around the world do just that.
Contravening my liberal-left colleagues, that means holding teens responsible for misbehaviors the same as adults (applying similar aggravating and mitigating factors) instead of invoking that bizarre “raise the age” tautology that winds up punishing all teens for the crimes of a vanishingly few while going easy on the few youths who commit the crimes. If a teenager indeed fired gunshots at the Houston “takeover” (as police sorta imply while hedging about what happened), then he should face serious consequences the same as NYC grownup Knicks fans who got violent. I bet teens overwhelmingly would agree with that.
I will add that, in reference to your last paragraph, New Jersey seems to have gone too far in terms of juvenile justice reform. In their zeal to correct very real problems with the system, they ended up overcorrecting and became too soft on real crime when committed by people under 18. I think it was good that they decriminalized the victimless "crimes" of underage drinking and cannabis, of course, but otherwise they went too far in making it too hard for police to do their jobs. And in response? Lots of Jersey Shore towns have instituted youth curfews, punishing the many for the actions of the tiny few. NO, they should be punishing the FEW instead! Precisely what my younger self would have said. Collective punishment is evil and has no place in any free society worthy of the name.
After "teen takeover", the next one would be "neurodivergence takeover". The reasons for limiting minors can be also used for neurodiversity adults. They make various of restrictions to young people is under the reason that young people are not rational enough, and have no enough preparation to facing with the world. So we must set a barrier for them to separate them from the society. This is also why "teen takeover" can be worried: People think teens are not mature and rational enough, so they should not be trusted, and it's dangerous to leave them free without guarding.
These reasons can be also used for neurodiversity people. They are always considered as weak in social interaction and always with lower ability than neurotypical people. So they are usually considered to be childish and lack of the skills to develop in the society independently, which makes people also don't at ease to trust them.
So if we don;t trust young people and continue to immature and irrational to get enough rights and freedom, the same logic can be also used on neurodiversity adults. At that time, "neurodivergence takeover" would be also worried.
Moreover, our entire theory of how to treat children is based on a wrong foundation. Represented by Nell Postman, people always think children should be separated from the true society, because they need more growth before it. So they need restrictions before they are matured enough. And neurodiversity people such as aspergers and ADHDs are also usually considered as weak in mental development. So when you want to set a barrier for children, the same logic can be also used for neurodiversity adult. I am afraid that adults with neurodiversity could become a breakthrough point for ageism spreading from adolescents to adults.