Although summertime means more sunshine, it also means more work for Police and shopkeepers dealing with troublesome youths in Hamilton's Washington Mall.

For the past two years the shop-lined alleyway joining Church and Reid Streets has been plagued by petty crime, most of it committed by young people.

And now with school out, Police and shopkeepers in the area are bracing themselves for an increase in activity.

The latest incident happened on June 5 when two boys, aged 13 and 14, were arrested after stealing money from another teenager.

One salesman, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed he witnessed the mugging, saying he saw two kids push a smaller boy out the side door of the mall.

After seeing the victim run away from the boys, the shopkeeper said he realised what was happening and called the Police.

When he later saw the boys walking out of another store in the Mall, he followed them to see where they were going and awaited the arrival of Police.

On Reid Street the boys approached him and offered to sell him a t-shirt, freshly shoplifted.

He kept the boys occupied, pretended to bargain for the shirt, until officers arrived and arrested the youths.

Supt. Campbell Simons of the Criminal Investigations Department, Central Division, told The Royal Gazette he was assigning a second officer to patrol the Washington Mall area in the next couple of weeks when graduates from the latest training school begin work.

"There is always supposed to be two officers around there, but due to a recent shortage in manpower there has only been one,'' he explained.

P.c. Angela Cox, Parish Constable for the City of Hamilton, said regular foot patrol was important just to let kids know that Police are around.

Meanwhile, P.c. Kevin Cabral has started his second week conducting bicycle patrols in the area.

The pedal patrol is an idea that has recently started in the City of Hamilton and is designed to keep officers in more direct contact with the public: "We are trying to have more of a Police presence,'' P.c. Cabral said.

P.c. Cabral found the biggest problem in the Mall area are kids on bicycles weaving in and out of pedestrians.

"A lot of kids don't know what the laws are in the city. We try and stop them and let them know,'' he added.

As far as the problem with theft is concerned, P.c. Cabral just hopes "to be in the right place at the right time.'' Supt. Simons agreed kids on bikes are a problem and also said pedal cycle theft was extremely high and expected to get even worse this summer. He also pointed out that rollerblading -- another potential problem -- is also illegal on Hamilton roadways.

Hank Fubler, a salesman at the London Shop, said the situation with young people in the Mall was "very bad.'' "These young people today have more nerve than the Police and the army put together.'' Mr. Fubler said he believed the children congregate everywhere because they have nothing better to do. "They need a good amusement park -- they need something to do everyday.'' Mr. Fubler attributed many of the problems to peer pressure. "We keep on blaming parents, but they can only do so much.'' Meanwhile, only an increased Police presence will solve the problems at the Washington Mall, he said.

"Even if Policemen were dressed in regular clothes, like decoys, they could catch some of the troublemakers.'' Mr. Fubler also claimed the only time he had seen P.c. Cabral was when he was being interviewed outside by The Royal Gazette .

He said he believed time was an issue in reporting petty crimes.

"When you call these Policemen they want your whole life story when they should be here. They take too long.'' Another salesperson, requesting anonymity, said they had experienced a few incidents when kids tried to run out of the shop with store items.

He also mentioned a fight that had gone on last week between two teenage girls right by the stairway in the mall.

"All of a sudden you see a girl going flying on the floor and the plants get torn out,'' he said.

He did say that Police later attended the incident.

Valisa Knight, a salesperson at Cotton Ginny Plus, said: "They (the youth) come running through here looking for trouble, riding push bikes when they know they are not supposed to.'' She believed the problem did begin at home with "young parents that can't even guide themselves.'' Terenay Burch, a salesperson at The Source, said the store's biggest problem was shoplifting, adding that all the petty crime made her worry about the safety of her own son walking through the Mall after school to meet her.

Treats of Bermuda manager Patrina Proctor Jackson said that she tries to deal with the children by treating them with respect.

"If a group of kids are swearing in here, I just tell them that it is not allowed and they usually respect that,'' she explained.

Caretaker of Washington Mall, Robert Siggins, admitted that kids in the Mall can be unruly. "I think we would notice a great difference if Police were on the beat.'' Supt. Simons stressed the need for the public to get involved in the type of incidents that take place in Washington Mall.

"People complain by making anonymous phone calls, but they never want to do anything about it,'' P.c. Cox explained.

"Time is of the essence. If you report something right away at least you can get a Police car over there; but calling in hours later, precious time has been wasted,'' she added.

"I see that the Washington Mall is a problem and I will continue to keep a Police presence there,'' Supt. Simons said.

"What can I say -- summer has begun,'' P.c. Cox concluded.