Disruptive “street takeovers” have caused chaos and sometimes deaths across the country, and a former investigator explains why she believes the trend has spread so quickly.

“Street takeovers involve…large groups coming onto a street to race, make money, or perform tricks on the street, essentially making it impossible for anyone who wants to use the street,” says Lolita Harper, executive director of the Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Association and a former detective, told Fox News Digital.

“They have…become increasingly dangerous in terms of the damage they cause, the crowds they attract, and essentially take over entire communities and/or intersections, even leading to…property damage and cars being set on fire.” In flames, windows, impacts.

Hundreds turned out over the weekend to take part in a road takeover in California near Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, FOX Los Angeles reported. Video from the scene shows large crowds gathering as a driver in a green car eats donuts by a fire.

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Police responded to multiple street takeovers and illegal street racing that occurred throughout Philadelphia within a matter of hours. (Adi Kamugisha)

Harper believes social media was used as a tool by these agitators to encourage street takeovers.

“Technology has now made it much easier to spread this negative message … while also attracting a larger crowd, which in turn causes the popularity to increase and the danger to increase,” she said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed four new bills designed to help law enforcement agencies across the state address the disruption. But Harper said her state government had not done enough to end the chaos.

“I think California has led the way in decriminalizing a lot of things,” she told Fox News Digital. “We’ve gotten so far away from what they call non-violent crimes, where there are essentially no penalties for things that are considered non-violent, that they just grow and grow because people know they… won’t happen.” get into trouble.

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Dozens of people called 911 in Cleveland last week as wild crowds with cars and guns filled the streets, the Fox 8 I-Team reported.

One person pleaded with dispatchers for help, saying, “Police. Police. Please send some police here,” the outlet reported.

“When windows are broken or cars are set on fire, fortunately we have things like… security cameras that we can track. But these are also long and extensive investigations,” Harper said.

There are several factors in these gatherings that make it difficult for law enforcement to hold those responsible for the disruption accountable, Harper said.

“Given the size of the crowd… it is difficult to determine who exactly is doing this. Once you actually have a presence in the area, people disperse very quickly,” she said. “Large crowds require a large police presence, which takes resources away from other parts of the city.”

According to police, hundreds of people attended a car rally in Virginia in April and watched cars being driven recklessly, endangering drivers and bystanders. (Fairfax County Police Department)

Street racing, takeovers, speed contests and reckless driving increased in percentage terms from April to May 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, then-interim Los Angeles Police Department Chief Dominic Choi noted in a June report.

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Drivers take over a street in Los Angeles. (OnScene.TV)

Road takeovers not only cause noise pollution, traffic delays, property damage and physical injuries, but can also result in death, Choi wrote.

Harper agrees with this observation.

“The potential for loss is incredible,” she said. “They take away security. They take away the sense of community and the feeling that they can take their children to school. This is another tragedy, but it cannot be equated with the loss of life. They are taking away quality of life from these communities.”