Offenders beware: Spanish Point and Admiralty Park residents came together last night to form a team to take back the neighbourhood.

Further meetings, clean-up efforts and a community newsletter are all now in the works.

Residents met with their area Community Beat Officers, members of the Marine Police who have "adopted" the area in the winter months, and members of the Parks Department at the Police Recreation Club in an information-trading session to discuss the area.

Police efforts are paying off, residents agreed, and the efforts of the Marine Police in particular were highly praised.

However, it also became clear that a continued joint effort between Police and residents was needed to target problems like drug-selling, loitering, excessive drinking in both Spanish Point and the Admiralty House parks, and threats of violence against residents.

"You know more about Admiralty Park than I will ever know," Police Sgt. Darren Simons told the residents. "You also have better ways of solving this than I ever will."

Police received suggestions on everything from installing surveillance equipment to removing the wall around the park and putting a sidewalk in instead.

Other suggestions included efforts to keep people out of the parks at night, including closing gates at dusk, as well as putting in a children's playground to encourage family use of the area.

Many spoke of lobbying Parliament for changes in Parks legislation. Such changes included the possibility of banning the consumption of alcohol in parks, banning certain people from parks, and allowing the Director of the Parks Department to place certain restrictions on park use.

Area MP Jamahl Simmons said he felt positive after the meeting. "It gives me another foot to fight on," he said ? especially next week's Budget debate looming.

Hearing the horror stories made it good to know that Police efforts are beginning to bear fruit, he said. "It was very positive, but it does give me a greater sense of the amount of work I have to do."

The very presence of well-meaning residents and Police officers is in itself a deterrent, those at the meeting agreed.

"Use the parks," PS Simons advised the residents. "Safety in numbers ... All you have to do is stand there. And if someone wanted to take a camera, and occasionally point it in their direction ... That is a big deterrent."