Fresno’s increased police presence in the Tower District the past few years has led to a 940% increase in spending on policing costs on an average weekend night.
Fresno police Chief Mindy Casto says the department has made a commitment to staffing a greater presence in the district on weekend nights as they have become more party-like with larger crowds lingering outside socializing around available street vendor food.
“Just backing out and letting Tower be isn’t an option because I think that we would truly have a tragedy that we would all regret,” Casto said. “So that’s really not on the table for us.”…