READING, Pa. — Summer may be winding down, 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.
Reading Police spent six weeks targeting illegal and unpermitted after-hours clubs earlier this year.
During the operation in May and June, police conducted 135 directed patrols at locations with known after-hours club activity. Four locations were shut down and placarded.
Police say they’ve seen a drastic decrease in activity since then, but they don’t expect the problem to disappear.
“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 say these aren’t just places where people stay out late. They say violent crime has been connected to many of the locations they’ve investigated.
“It’s not just an after-hours club. Violent crime is coming from almost all of these locations,” Demko said.
Police say they’re now in what they call a “maintenance phase,” meaning officers will continue checking 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.