READING, Pa. — Summer may be winding down in Berks County, but Reading Police say their crackdown on illegal after-hours clubs is not.
“No, this is a continuing thing, all right?” Deputy Police Chief Aaron Demko said.
Earlier this year, from May to June, Reading Police spent six weeks targeting illegal and unpermitted after-hours clubs in the City of Reading.
During the operation, police say they conducted 135 directed patrols at locations with known after-hours club activity. Four locations were shut down and placarded.
During the inspection, 18 additional City of Reading Fire Prevention Code violations were found.
According to police, they have seen a drastic decrease in activity since then. However, authorities don’t expect the problem to disappear completely quite yet.
“It’s being driven by large amounts of money and revenue, so we believe we’re going to continue to see these places pop up, and we’ll continue to address them,” Demko said.
The operation involved Reading Police, the City’s Fire Marshal’s Office and Property and Codes Enforcement, along with assistance from Pennsylvania Liquor Control Enforcement.
Police explain that these aren’t just places where people stay out late. They say violent crime has been connected to many of the locations they have investigated.
“It’s not just an after-hours club. Violent crime is coming from almost all of these locations,” Demko said.
Following the initial enforcement activity, reinspections determined that the buildings had all discontinued the illegal use.
Police say they are now in what they call a “maintenance phase,” meaning officers will continue to check areas where illegal after-hours activity has been identified.
“So it’ll absolutely continue. This is not going to stop. As long as the problem is still present, we will continue to address it,” Demko said.
Police are also asking residents to report suspected illegal after-hours activity, saying they will follow up on every complaint they receive.