Kids 17 or younger need a chaperone at Allegheny County's pools

PLUM, Pa. (KDKA) -- A new chaperone policy aimed at increasing safety and creating a more enjoyable experience was implemented Tuesday at all four Allegheny County pools. 

The countywide restriction went into effect Tuesday morning. From now on, if you're 17 or younger you must have an adult chaperone with you who is at least 21 with photo identification. 

"We found that a lot of teenagers were coming in the afternoon unsupervised. We feel it will be a safer environment," said Andy Baechle, the director of Allegheny Parks. 

Allegheny County's announcement follows a trend of other local pools, malls and amusement parks cracking down on unaccompanied teenagers.

At first, the chaperone policy applied to 16 and under, but Tuesday afternoon, the county upped it by a year.

While the county didn't point to any direct incidents, two teenagers told KDKA-TV they occasionally see some some unruly kids. 

"It's just kids wrestling in the pool, doing flips and just not obeying the lifeguards and stuff and you look around and they're just by themselves. They don't have a parent to reprimand them," one of the teenager said. 

Under the county's new policy, the adult chaperone may escort no more than four children under the age of 17 and they must stay at the pool the entire time. In addition to Boyce Wave Pool, this applies to pools at Settlers Cabin and North and South Park Pools. 

"A lot of kids do need the extra supervision and it's good especially for our little ones to be able to enjoy it when we're here," said pool-goer Cindy Washington. 

"There's always a possibility of something happening. Now, it's nice that we can come here and totally be safe," Steve Duncan said. 

In addition, if an escorted teen is banned from the pool, the adult escort will be banned too.