City officials have implemented a new plan to prevent summer violence after seeing an uptick in shootings involving minors.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and police chief Todd Bettison detailed the new plan during a press conference on Monday, July 7, 2025.
The mayor said a year ago today, on July 7, 2024, the illegal block party shooting on Rossini left two dead and 19 injured.
After that, he authorized the Detroit Police Department to have mobile field teams out in the city until 3 a.m. to stop illegal block parties and street racing.
While the 2024 plan has been effective, and over the last few years, the city has seen a 20-30% decrease in shootings, according to the mayor, problems have changed.
The two problems the mayor addressed are:
- Illegal block parties and street racing that are happening between 3-6 a.m.
- An increase in minors being involved in shootings
Over the holiday weekend, from July 3 to July 6, six juveniles were shot, and in just the last month, there were 20 shootings involving minors.
Due to the increase in shootings involving young people, both as victims and as the shooters, the city is implementing changes to increase curfew enforcement.
Here are the changes being made:
Increased curfew enforcement/mobile field teams
In the city of Detroit, minors 15 and under cannot be in public places from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. without a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult.
For teens ages 16 and 17, the curfew begins at 11 p.m.
Under this new plan, the city isn’t changing the curfew times, but is stepping up its enforcement.
While mobile field force units were previously authorized until 3 a.m., Duggan has now authorized Bettison to keep now keep them in the field until 5 a.m.
The mayor pointed to several recent shootings, including a 2-year-old child who was struck by a stray bullet as they were watching fireworks on Marion Street while a large street party was going on nearly a block away.
During that shooting investigation, police found 22 shell casings, and 10 people were arrested. Teens as young as 14 were arrested for curfew violations.
“What are 14-year-olds doing out at midnight in a group of people randomly firing off shots?” Duggan said.
He also referenced a quadruple shooting in which a 17-year-old and two 18-year-olds were shot during an illegal street gathering, and a recent illegal street racing situation that had allegedly shut down 7 Mile Road at Meyers for an hour and a half.
Duggan also said that of the 20 shootings that involved young people over the last month, 12 happened between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.
The mobile field teams, along with all Detroit officers, will make curfew enforcement a priority, according to Duggan and Bettison.
Priority 1 Calls
Additionally, city leaders are asking members of the community to report illegal street parties and street racing to police. These calls will be classified as “Priority 1″ calls, which are the highest priority level, according to Bettison.
Changes to fines for parents
As part of the curfew enforcement goals, Duggan has asked the city council to amend the city’s parental responsibility ordinance to raise fines.
For parents who allow their children to be out past curfew, the fine is increasing from $75 to $250 for the first offense and from $100 to $500 for the second offense.
Duggan said he’d ask for a higher amount, but $500 was the maximum allowed under state law.
The department has special curfew enforcement vans that will be used to transport the minors to a specific location to be processed, since there are often several minors present at one location. After that, the parents will be called, and when they arrive to pick up their child, they will be fined.
Bettison said they will address curfew violations “appropriately” and not “heavy-handedly.” The intent is to make sure minors stay off the street and encourage parents to be aware of where their kids are.
At the end of the summer, the police chief said he we reevaluate the need for having mobile field teams out until 5 a.m.