If you turn on the news anywhere in the nation you will see that violent crimes are up significantly. The Capital Region is no different, but the Saratoga Springs Police Department is hoping to turn things around. They have announced that they will be increasing their police presence on weekends.

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Violence erupted in Saratoga Springs over the weekend with a fight on Caroline Street involving 15 to 20 people. During the fight, shots rang out and one individual was stabbed during the fight.

According to News 10, Assistant Police Chief John Cantone spoke at a press conference today. Cantone has been in the police department in Saratoga Springs for 35 years. He says that he has never seen anything like the violence that is occurring in the city at this time. He said he does not want Saratoga Springs to be known for violence. Assistant Chief Cantone said that his department has been busy nonstop. Police believe that the fight may have involved gang members.

Robin Dalton, the Public Safety Commissioner for Saratoga Springs, says that this problem is new for Saratoga Park Springs. She said, “It’s certainly unique to this moment. I really can’t speak to whether or not there’ve been gang members here or not. In my term as a public safety commissioner, this is the first time we’ve had a real problem with gang violence from other cities in our city.”

The Saratoga Springs Police Department says that they will be working with other agencies to work on the problem of gang members from other jurisdictions causing trouble in Saratoga Springs.

The department will also increase their manpower on the weekends. Mr. Cantone says that they will have however many officers they need working on weekends to let community members know that the problem is serious and that they care about public safety. The increased manpower will continue throughout the summer months on the weekends.

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