It is a part of society that young people will congregate in public. It is both inevitable and socially necessary. Congregating is part of the rite of passage of sorts from childhood to adulthood, allowing youth to socialize and bond with their peers, out of their parents' view.
Young people's self-identity and self-worth are profoundly shaped by how they believe their peers perceive them, and gathering in public provides opportunities to see, and be seen by, others. Group settings provide a relatively safe context for teenagers to flirt and pair up with one another, supported and protected by their friends.
But they often do not always see how their gatherings affect other people. It can often make people feel afraid or apprehensive regardless of their behavior when most people see such a gathering they automatically see them as a gang.
Such gatherings can become disorderly depending of their conduct such as cursing, blocking sidewalks and streets, playing games in the streets, playing music loudly, drinking, fighting, littering, making offensive remarks to passerby and vandalizing property.
Young teens usually are looking for a place where they can hang out with each other without excessive adult supervision. In England, the police arranged for their teens to help an architect design a public youth shelter.
Some of the following can help problems from occurring:
Employ youth where businesses are negatively affected by disorderly conduct, it can promote a sense of responsibility among youth. Make sure that youth have adequate transportation to and from events this removes the risk of them being on the streets. Give teens a place to gather where they will not be complained about. Install closed-circuit TV where problems exist. Rules of conduct need to be established and made known to area teens if they wish to be in that particular place.
Mediating conflicts between youth needs to be a factor in helping teens know that there are other ways of handling situations. And that they must be held accountable for their actions.