Riviera Beach police combat crime by 'cornering' certain stores

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Inside a restaurant tucked away in Riviera Beach, workers say what has changed on the outside is drastic.

"People, sometimes they'd be afraid to come out. But now since it's cleaned up, they come out," said Amanda Smith, a restaurant employee at Intercoastal Seafood and Chicken.

Last fall, the Riviera Beach Police Department launched an initiative to crack down on corner and convenience stores for eyesores and safety hazards. Stores were cited for broken security cameras, broken lights, and boarded up windows.

By targeting blight, police said they've been able to root out the bigger problem of crime.