LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Less than two weeks after the hours were cut at Louisville's Dave Armstrong Extreme Park in Butchertown, police said they believe the change will make a difference as far as reports of crime in the area.

"I've been in close contact with officers that work down there every evening and they say there's been a very significant change," said Lt. Caleb Stewart, commander of the Louisville Metro Police Department's Downtown Area Patrol. 

In June, police arrested two teenagers who LMPD said were trying to conceal AR-style weapons while at the skate park. Stewart said there have been other calls to the park as well.

"I looked up the calls for service this calendar year, all the times where officers were out there on a run. A little more than half of them were officer self-initiated, so LMPD's been very proactive in calling out there and actively patrolling the skate park," he said. 

He said other calls included reports of disorderly subjects and people with guns. 

Vendome Copper & Brass Works is just two blocks away from the park. Owners told WDRB News they've seen nothing but problems overnight, and it's only getting worse. 

Videos appear to show some of the concerns the owners mentioned. 

"You can see people just carrying guns and assault rifles, everyone has them," Mike Sherman, Vendome Copper & Brass Works owner, said on July 7. "It's just amazing to me the amount of guns that these young people have on them."

LMPD said juvenile crime is a problem across the city. 

Stewart noted that it's not necessarily those skating who are causing any issues but instead, people taking advantage of the fact that the park was open 24/7. 

Beginning July 3, Metro Parks changed the operating hours of the skate park to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily to align with a local ordinance that other state parks follow for open hours.

"A lot of the reports we were getting from the skate park of people with guns and issues and fights and things like that were occurring after that time, and so we're hoping to really limit that area and make it known that that's not a hangout for people who are there to cause trouble," Stewart said. 

With the police department being hundreds of officers short, Stewart said LMPD is supplementing the shortage with regular overtime details including in the downtown area, and city surveillance cameras that have the ability to show officers what is happening in real-time. 

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