Winston-Salem, Forsyth County law enforcement to crack down on downtown juvenile gatherings

Winston-Salem and Forsyth County law enforcement are considering charging parents due to what they say is a rise in disruptive juvenile gatherings downtown.

Police showed footage at a press conference on Monday of several individuals assaulting someone in downtown Winston-Salem.

Officials said six incident reports were completed just last weekend, ranging from vandalism to an officer being assaulted while trying to break up a fight. Three juveniles and an 18-year-old have all since been charged with criminal behavior.

Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill said discussions are being held behind the scenes to determine whether or not it's time for guardians to be charged.

"There will be consequences if the behavior continues, and it's the same parents that are allowing their children to be undisciplined," O'Neill said. "The crime is called contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and what it means essentially is you're allowing your child to be unsupervised in a place where they could be adjudicated delinquent."

Winston-Salem police are adding additional officers downtown to "crack down on these behaviors." They've also disabled Lime scooters in the area on weekends.