SOUTH FULTON, GA — With spring break here and summer approaching, one metro Atlanta city is looking to plan ahead of teen takeovers.

The city of South Fulton is launching Operation Go Home to highlight the strict curfew. South Fulton’s mandatory teen curfew is 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., with an extra hour until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

It is meant to keep teens safe when the risk of harm is the greatest.

Mayor Carmalitha Gumbs says that’s not new, but the way social media can quickly organize a teen takeover is concerning.

“This is not optional. This is the law, and it will be enforced,” Gumbs said.

This comes in the wake of multiple recent metro Atlanta teen takeovers that have led to arrests and chaos.

Interim Public Safety Director Dr. Cedric Alexander says Operation Go Home will increase police presence and intel sharing across the metro Atlanta area.

“If young folks are caught out beyond those hours, we will contact their parents and they could possibly be cited as well,” Alexander said.

Alexander underscores the importance of ensuring juveniles are home by curfew and highlights the shared responsibility between families and law enforcement in keeping the community safe.

Operation Go Home includes:

• Increased patrol presence and visibility throughout the city
• Enhanced social media monitoring and cross-jurisdictional intelligence gathering to identify potential illegal gatherings and “teen takeover” events
• Reinforcement of juvenile curfew laws and expectations
• Continued emphasis on parental accountability and engagement

Alexander says city leaders aren’t trying to take things to the extreme right away.

“What we look to try to do is resolve the issue on a case-by-case basis. We do have an ordinance and a law that does support what we’re trying to do here,” he said. “There are those bad actors that come into those sites or come into those locations and create problems and cast a negative aspersion on all of the good kids that are there.”

Parents with repeat teen curfew violators could be cited.

Multiple law enforcement agencies across metro Atlanta have teamed up in recent weeks to prevent these incidents.

Authorities are also warning communities across the region after chaotic takeovers occurred along the Atlanta Beltline and at The Battery in Cobb County, blocking traffic and leading to 17 people arrested.

Cobb County police say those arrests were tied to a takeover at The Battery in February, which also prompted Cumberland Mall to enforce a strict curfew.