RESIDENTS of St. George's have won their battle to maintain a police presence in the community, according to leaders in the Old Town.

Although police declined comment, it is understood the St. George's branch will serve as a sub-station while a larger one at Southside in St. David's will police the entire eastern area.

"I have had meetings with just about everybody regarding the police station and was advised by the Premier that it was going to remain in St. George three or four months ago," said Mayor Henry Hayward.

"It is my understanding it will remain in St. George's in addition to one at Southside that will monitor the entire eastern area."

Whether the ageing station on York Street was to close permanently and move to more modern facilities at Southside - or temporarily to facilitate renovations to the property - had been a source of extreme concern for St. George's residents for most of last year.

Under the belief that Government was to move the police - and as part of a campaign staged against rising crime in the area - some 1,400 people signed a petition supporting keeping the police put.

In an apparent U-turn on policy, Premier Jennifer Smith during last year's Peppercorn Ceremony announced that there had never been a plan to relocate despite the fact that rumours continued to circulate to the contrary and police and Government refused to comment.

With the future of the station up in the air, incidents of smashed Christmas lights and spray-painted buildings were the last straw for many St. George's residents, who saw limited police support as part of the problem.

"We are going to continue meetings with police, and try to as well have a meeting with these individuals, because we are pretty sure who they are," said Mr. Hayward at the time, identifying youths between the ages of 17 and 20 as the culprits, spurred on by a wider group between the ages of 13 and 22.

Yesterday, however, he said a series of meetings between community leaders and the youths had led to some success. Although still in its early stages, it is believed that Government assisted the initiative, providing the youths with employment and ridding the Old Town of their acts of vandalism.

"I think it's fortunate that some of those individuals that we have been working with have jobs now," said Mr. Hayward. "It's still in its early stages, but we haven't had any problems for the last six weeks. Things have improved."

Corporation of St. George's town manager Lance Furbert said talks with the youths had been organised by the town's public safety committee, which discussed the problem in a non-confrontational manner with the youths and their parents and met with positive results.

"Some of the young people that were on the street are now working and I must say I am most proud of them," he said.

"They're growing up, becoming part of the community. I believe they recognised that they'd like to be able to buy things and to save some money and so they decided to move into the job market. Government made some positions available, jobs on the Berkeley site and so on. Government has taken an interest and the result has been a very positive one.

"It is the early days obviously, but I think they are really picking up the buck. I've always said that there were incredibly bright men here in St. George, they just needed some direction. I view it as a very positive step."