Police: Better Supervision Needed at Grand Avenue Park

The secluded park in north Monrovia that has been the needs better community supervision and visibility, a sergeant said Tuesday.

Shielded from the the street by lush foliage, few deterrents are available to prevent illegal activities like vandalism and underage drinking at Grand Avenue Park, Monrovia Police Sgt. Glen Coleman said.

Police will ask residents in the area to keep better watch near the park and start up a neighborhood watch program during a community meeting slated for Wednesday night, Coleman said.

"If we just have people who keep their eye out or call us when they see kids lurking in the bushes or something then maybe we can prevent some vandalism," Coleman said. "If they can all band together and keep an eye on it for us that would be great."

Coleman speculated that most of the illegal activity at the park was taking place in the afternoons and noted that its secluded location makes it tougher to patrol the area. He said one option on the table Wednesday will be to remove the brush at the park's entrance to allow for better visibility.

Police have tried repeatedly to remove a makeshift BMX biking course behind the park to no avail, Coleman said.

"We’ve cleaned that up so many times and they just end up going back up there," he said, noting that the kids responsible for building the track aren't necessarily responsible for the vandalism. "I don’t even know if any of those guys have anything to do with these vandalisms, to tell you the truth."

The community meeting to discuss the vandalism at the park will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Monrovia Community Center.