SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Parents in Pacific Beach are frustrated with witnessing ongoing vandalism and drug-use near schools, parks, libraries, and baseball fields.
The most recent vandalism happened at Bob McEvoy fields where the Mission Bay Youth Baseball teams play. The score booth was broken into and the stairs leading up to it were stolen.
Lee Silber, a coach and league volunteer, believes someone may have broken into the booth to sleep in. He says people would sleep in the dugout up until they put up a small fence blocking an opening.
"There's broken glass, people shooting up in the bathroom during the day, plus, as somebody who comes here alone to work on the field, I'm nervous," said Silber.
Parents want to see more enforcement around areas where children frequent, as well as harsher punishments for crimes committed in these areas.
A California state law increases punishment for possession of drugs or firearms in school zones but parents aren't sure it's being enforced.
"I am very compassionate and want to help people but I also need to protect my child first," said Janelle Sherako, a Pacific Beach resident and baseball mom.
Councilmember Lorie Zapf says it's a concern at the top of her priority list. She believes state propositions reducing drug crimes and releasing low-level offenders from incarceration have contributed to the city's problems. She also says the police shortage makes it harder for officers to be proactive and conduct community policing.
Zapf encourages residents to send her videos and examples of what they're seeing.
