Riviera Beach police work to reduce crime near convenience stores

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Convenience stores are part of virtually every community. In some areas, police said they can become areas of disrepair or avenues of crime. Officials in Riviera Beach said it's time to crack down on the problems.

Riviera Beach Police Chief Michael Coleman said they held Wednesday's "convenience store workshop" to take a store-by-store look at the issues happening on the streets of Riviera Beach.

Coleman met WPTV near two convenience stores along President Barack Obama Highway. One store had more than 2,000 calls to police in the past three years while the other had more than 600.

"There is a problem," Coleman said. "A homicide happened at this store about five to six months ago. We have shootings, drug deals, fights on the properties, consuming in public, intoxicated individuals."