Pittsburgh leaders quietly impose youth curfew, chaperone policy in Market Square aimed at stopping mass gatherings

A curfew and chaperone policy quietly implemented last week in Market Square is temporary, officials said Tuesday, as Pittsburgh and cities nationwide struggle to quell mass gatherings of young people that have at times devolved into fights and other disruptions.

The new "operational policy" dictates that anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 21 from 3 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Sunday.

"After a series of concerns, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, and the city of Pittsburgh, working with public safety partners, put a temporary measure in place last week," PDP spokesman Richard Hooper said in a statement.

In identical statements, city and police officials said the measure is a "focused, temporary response" that will be in place pending "sustainable, long-term solutions."

Private security personnel "will be positioned at the six intersections surrounding the Square," the statement said, "working alongside Pittsburgh police officers and established youth outreach partners."

The law enforcement, security and outreach groups will be "focused on engagement and de-escalation," Hooper said. "Conditions will continue to be reviewed as longer-term solutions are developed to keep the Square safe, active, and welcoming for everyone."

There is no timetable for how long the curfew will be in place, nor what longer-term sustainable solutions are being explored.

Curfews come up in conversation among public safety and city officials every few years amid surges in violence among young people. It came up among City Council members in early 2023 as the city came off of one of the most violent years in a decade.

Experts told the Post-Gazette at the time that research has historically shown that curfews do little to reduce violence and other disruptions involving teenagers and kids. Myriad studies have concluded that youth curfews do little to move the needle when it comes to violence affecting young people - either those perpetrating it or those victimized by it.

In 2016, the Campbell Collaboration, a nonprofit criminal justice policy group, reviewed 12 studies on the effectiveness of curfews for city youth.

"The pattern of evidence suggests that juvenile curfews are ineffective at reducing crime and victimization," the review concluded. "The average effect on juvenile crime during curfew hours was slightly positive - that is, a slight increase in crime - and close to zero for crime during all hours."

A 2024 review of studies on youth curfews found "mixed evidence on the effectiveness ... and some evidence of negative effects."

The current iteration of the conversation in Pittsburgh stems in part from an incident in Market Square in late March when a fight among teenagers ended with nearly two dozen people being hit with pepper spray - some sprayed by police responding to the incident and some sprayed by the kids involved.

Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams said at the time that kids throughout the city have created an "informal culture" that has forced public safety entities to react rather than be proactive.

That includes so-called "teen takeovers" - loosely organized gatherings of young people in public spaces, often coordinated via social media, that have become a national phenomenon. The sheer size of the groups has caused some to devolve into violence, fights and other disruptive behavior.

Days after the melee in Market Square in March, Pittsburgh Public Schools officials warned of a planned "downtown takeover event" the following Friday. A message to parents pleaded for families to "discourage their children from attending."

The mass gatherings have sparked curfew talks in cities across the U.S., including Chicago and Atlanta.

Malls and other shopping districts have become hot spots for such gatherings, prompting more targeted curfews. Locally, the Mall at Robinson instituted a chaperone policy in 2023. Malls in Houston and Charlotte have implemented similar rules.

On Tuesday, Washington, D.C., city council members, in a divided vote, approved a long-debated measure that makes permanent a temporary citywide curfew for teens and allows metropolitan police to declare "youth curfew zones" that have earlier curfews.

In those youth curfew zones, juveniles aren't allowed to gather in groups larger than eight after 8 p.m. The legislation now heads to Mayor Muriel Bowser and then Congress for review.

Bowser had urged council to pass emergency legislation, which would have bypassed Congress and immediately instituted the curfews. The council sponsor of the emergency legislation withdrew the bill.

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 11:14 PM.