Deadly 'street takeovers' wreck communities across US, but Arizona police have formula to curb chaos

As "street takeovers" have been on the rise in communities across the country, police in Arizona have managed to decrease the dangerous chaos and crowds. 

"Back probably a year ago, we would have takeovers weekly, and then since March of this year, we haven't had a single one in Phoenix or Tempe," Sgt. Matt Barker, with the Tempe Police Department night traffic squad, told Fox News Digital. 

Barker discussed the work he and his team have done to produce such a large decline in the disruptions, while cities like Cleveland, Los Angeles and Tampa have seen recent trouble with takeovers.

"We started seeing the actual intersection takeovers in Phoenix … mid-COVID," Barker said, adding that streets were desolate and nobody was out except for those participating in the takeovers. 

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He explained that before Tempe got control of its local takeovers, the Phoenix Police Department's strong enforcement set the overall decline in motion. 

"Phoenix had a squad that was more of a task force in the beginning … they did the enforcement so well in Phoenix that they pushed it to all the other agencies," Barker said. 

When one takeover became exceptionally forceful, Tempe police decided to take action. 

"We had an aggravated assault where a citizen went to confront a group down the street from his house. They took his car. Beat him up really bad. And then they basically joyrode his car in the middle of the intersection and then returned it to him with a cracked windshield, they were jumping up and down on it, just shattering everything," Barker said. "So that was kind of when Tempe said, OK, enough's enough, we have to do something about this."

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Barker credits his city's government with providing the necessary funding and resources for those in law enforcement to do their jobs. Tempe police were able to go undercover to gather intel on the groups taking over their streets. 

"We got involved with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to get some funding. We had basically explorers that looked like police cars…they couldn't fit in very well," Barker said. "So we got a couple of unmarked mustangs and were able to fit in with these groups. We were basically trying to identify the issues."

Other state governments are now following suit. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed four new bills aimed at helping law enforcement agencies across the state crack down on the disruptions, and Florida passed new legislation this year doubling the fines for first-time offenders caught drag racing or stunt driving on city streets. 

In addition to causing noise pollution, traffic obstructions, property damage and physical injuries, street takeovers can even cause death, Dominic Choi, the Los Angeles Police Department's interim chief at the time, noted in a June report.

"We're not allowed to call it a gang, but it's about as close as you can get without calling it that," Barker said. "I have seen more people get hit by a car in these takeovers than I think I have any other place" and "I know people that got shot over these things."

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Hundreds showed up to participate in a California street takeover near Costa Mesa and Santa Ana earlier this month, FOX Los Angeles reported. Dozens of people called 911 in Cleveland several weeks ago when wild crowds swarmed the streets with cars and guns in a disruptive street takeover, the Fox 8 I-Team reported.

The biggest reason for Tempe's successful decline in takeovers? Barker emphasized "zero tolerance."

"We did an operation in March, just kind of as an example. … We towed over 300 cars, arrested over 400 people just for the intersection takeovers and the street racing." 

Tempe police used social media as a tool to help investigate these takeovers and hold participants accountable. 

"They were posting everything … where they were going to be, how many people, so it made it easy for us, and then we could use it all," Barker said. "We'd write the search warrants and get the evidence that way, which was great because they were giving us the evidence of their crimes."

While Tempe police have found a lasting solution to street takeovers in their area, Barker wants to share their story in the hopes that other cities and agencies may also reduce the ongoing disorder on their streets. 

"We have something that works. And instead of, you know, agencies taking six months to eight months just to figure it out, we have a plan that we are obviously more than happy to share and have shared," Barker said. "We learned from Phoenix and then we … kind of bumped it up and made it the next best thing. And then another agency can take it and make it their next best thing."