Arrests up amid teen influx

As more youths are gathering downtown, police are adding patrols to keep the peace

Posted: January 4, 2010 - 12:09am

By Chad Smith
On a recent Friday night, a group of teenagers milling about the City Gate at the north end of St. George Street were being typical teenagers.

A boy and a girl hung over each other as the group talked loudly and loosely, not shy about blurting out the F word.

While they were hardly a street gang, police and business owners believe the teens and their peers, who have turned downtown into a hangout, aren't just a typical angst-driven nuisance but a deterrent to tourism and commerce as well.

St. Augustine Police Cmdr. Barry Fox said that since Ponce de Leon Mall instituted a rule against unsupervised youths about two years ago, St. George Street has become the place teens go on the weekends.

Parents drop their kids off at the City Gate like they would at the mall, but the difference is that, after the sun goes down, downtown becomes more of a bar scene -- not a place teens, high-schoolers belong, Fox said.

"The more important thing for everyone to realize is that St. George Street becomes an adult district at a certain point," he said. "We just want parents to be aware that when they drop their children off downtown, they're not dropping them off in a children-friendly zone."

The police department has added bicycle and foot patrols, but there is still a feeling that problem is overwhelming, a combination of a tight budget and a seemingly increasing influx of kids.

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Richard Pinto, who owns the Far East Traders and Sunburst Crystal shops near the City Gate, said the throng of kids has become a problem for his employees; some have said they don't feel safe walking to their cars at night anymore.

"It's a mecca for people who want to have a walking experience, which is a very positive thing," Pinto said. "But the downside is it also becomes a mecca for people who ... want to come hang around."

Fox said that while the majority of teens are law-abiding although obnoxious, police want parents to know that there have been problems with fights, drugs and vandalism.

Juvenile arrests downtown have been climbing in the past two years as well, particularly in the summer months.

Irving Kass, who owns the St. George Inn hotel a few feet from Pinto's shops, said his guests have, at different times, said they have felt intimidated.

"I guess the word nuisance comes to mind," Kass said. "Parents may not even know that their children are just hanging out here, and with so many people just hanging out, it doesn't necessarily create an atmosphere that's inviting for people to come down for dinner."

But, he said police and the city have made strides in the past few months with increased patrols, more lighting and better communication between the officers and the shopkeepers.

"I can see that they're doing a much better job on it, but it's still there," he said.

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For about the past year, Vicki Yarger has been dropping off her 15-year-old daughter downtown, because there are few other places she and her friends can hang out.

One night in May, her daughter and her friends were ticketed by police for trespassing near the downtown parking garage.

Yarger felt the kids had a right to be where they were: sitting on a park bench just outside of the playground.

Nevertheless, her daughter was fined.

But the simple ticket became monumental in the fall, when an officer came and got Yarger's daughter from her classroom and arrested her for missing her appearance in court.

Yarger said she was furious because since the ticket was issued she had moved to the Butler Beach area and a court summons was never delivered.

So, in essence, her daughter spent two nights in jail because she was hanging out downtown, but the failure to appear charge was thrown out after she explained the situation to the court, Yarger said.

"I just feel sad because she's a good kid and has to be treated like this," she said, adding that she plans to continue to let her daughter spend time downtown.

She said she knows that there are seedy elements there, but she trusts her child.

"I still (take her downtown) because I would think that she has good judgment," Yarger said.

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Arrested development

In the past two years, police have arrested nearly twice as many juveniles downtown between May and September than in 2007.

Year Arrests

2007 222

2008 328

2009 425