Devil's Night


Devil's Night is a name associated with October 30, the night before Halloween. It is related to the "Mischief Night" practiced in parts of the United States such as Philadelphia, but is chiefly associated with the serious vandalism and arson seen in Detroit, Michigan, from the 1970s to the 1990s, finally prompting the "Angels' Night" community response.

Description

Devil's Night dates from as early as the 1940s. Traditionally, city youths engaged in a night of mischievous or petty criminal behavior, usually consisting of minor pranks or acts of mild vandalism which caused little or no property damage.
However, in the early 1970s, the vandalism escalated to more destructive acts such as arson. This primarily took place in the inner city, but surrounding suburbs were often affected as well.
The crimes became more destructive in Detroit's inner-city neighborhoods, and included hundreds of acts of arson and vandalism every year. The destruction reached a peak in the mid- to late-1980s, with more than 800 fires set in 1984, and 500 to 800 fires in the three days and nights before Halloween in a typical year.

Decline of Devil's Night arson

Devil's Night arson in Detroit had not declined by the early 1990s. After a brutal Devil's Night in 1994, then-mayor Dennis Archer promised city residents arson would not be tolerated. In 1995, Detroit city officials organized and created Angels' Night on and around October 29–31. Each year as many as 50,000 volunteers gather to patrol neighborhoods in the city. Many volunteers kept a high profile, patrolling neighborhoods with magnetic-mount flashing amber beacons on their personal vehicles, along with communicating with command centers via CB radios or by cellular phones to report any suspicious activity. Incidences of arson and other crimes declined, a success largely attributed to the Angels' Night volunteers. The drop in reported fires for the year 2008 was credited to the Angels' Night program. That same year, 35,000 signed up to volunteer in the city, according to Daniel Cherrin, spokesperson for Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr.
As a result of the efforts, fires plunged to near-ordinary levels in the first decade of the 21st century. In 2010, the number of reported fires climbed to 169, a 42 percent increase compared to the previous year. However, subsequent years saw the totals again decline to the low 90s for the three-day period. This average of about 32 fires per day is somewhat higher than the expected 26 fires per day through the year. 2015 saw the lowest recorded number of fires with only 52 fires recorded and only 24 considered possibly arson. In 2018, formal support of Angels' Night was ended with city resources being instead allocated to host neighborhood Halloween parties. Devil's Night 2018 recorded a total of 5 structure fires, with only 4 on the night before.
In the 2010s, the decline of Devil's Night fires has coincided with a rise in similar arson on the nights surrounding the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

In popular culture