Alcohol Enforcement Patrols Resume Today
Enhanced effort to curtail drinking kicks off with St. Patrick’s Day
Boston University Police and Boston Police will resume enhanced alcohol enforcement patrols starting this weekend, which coincides with St. Patrick’s Day. Patrols will run through the end of April. Photo by rez-art/iStock
Saint Patrick’s Day is tomorrow, officially, but across the city, festivities will begin today and continue through the weekend. For many, the holiday is synonymous with alcohol.
“This day often involves drinking and parties in the area,” says Captain Robert Molloy of the BU Police Department. In an ongoing effort to curtail underage drinking both this weekend and through the semester’s end as the weather turns warmer, the BUPD is teaming up with the Boston Police Department on enhanced alcohol enforcement patrols, starting today and continuing every weekend through April.
“For the fourth consecutive year, BUPD will once again be partnering with the Boston Police to address alcohol violations in areas on Boston University property and the adjacent neighborhoods,” says Molloy. “Our goal is to reduce issues of illegal and dangerous drinking and maintain a safe community both on and off campus.”
Alcohol medical transports are up significantly from last year, 171 to date so far this year, compared to 127 for the same time period a year ago. In a letter being emailed to all undergraduates today at noon, Kenneth Elmore (SED’87), associate provost and dean of students, Scott Paré, BUPD acting chief and BU deputy director of public safety, and Judy Platt, director of Student Health Services, urge students to exercise common sense about participating in the city’s festivities this weekend. The email advises: “Remain aware of your surroundings…make plans to get home in a safe manner; stay away from people acting in a way that may harm you; and be alert for scammers, thieves, and people who may try to victimize you.…If you choose to drink, don’t overindulge in drinking alcoholic beverages; make sure your friends get home and keep an eye out for each other.”
The spring effort “will continue through the end of April,” says Molloy, and there will be additional resources dedicated to various areas on and around campus during certain times, especially the statewide Patriots Day holiday, April 17, the day of the annual Boston Marathon.
As in past years, this spring’s beefed up enforcement will include both Boston police officers patrolling neighborhoods adjacent to West Campus and plainclothes BU police officers patrolling areas within the University.
BU Today will report each weekend’s results the following Thursday.
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