Philly Police 'Surge Teams' To Crackdown On Disruptive Gatherings

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Police are deploying new "surge teams" to help combat potentially dangerous large gatherings in the city.

According to police, starting Friday, these surge teams will be responding to disruptive gatherings, such as car meet ups and crowds of people.

Teams will comprise regular patrol, support, and tactical units in marked units and in uniform.

It's unclear how many officers will be involved in the teams.

They will also be mobile to respond to any incidents across the city. Violent crime is the priority, but police said the teams will respond to quality of life issues and crimes such as retail theft.

They will use data to focus on areas where violent crimes, large gatherings, and other dangerous incidents occur.

These teams will be deployed Friday night into Saturday morning, and Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Police said these teams may be deployed on weekends for the remainder of the year, however authorities said they will monitor data regarding large meet ups and make adjustments to the new tactic.