The ASU and Tempe Police Department will be cracking down on underage drinking and drunk driving with a DUI task force starting on Friday night and continuing until Sunday.
Both departments are also partnering with the Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Public Safety, setting up the DUI Task Forces and undercover police around the campus, residence halls as well as Tempe apartments and housing, ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina said.
ASU police are stepping up enforcement around the campus during the day to patrol parking and pedestrian violations, such as bike thefts and safety and jaywalking.
“The first week of school in the day time, it’s heavy enforcement of those traffic violations, which would be warnings and then the second week they’re going to start writing tickets,” Hardina said.
The police departments will increase squad and patrol units on Friday and Saturday nights to combat any violations.
“We’ll have extra officers on the road looking to remove impaired drivers from our roadway,” Tempe Police Sgt. Steve Carbajal said.
Police are looking for loud party complaints and any alcohol potentially related violations such as “sexual assaults, criminal damage, drinking and driving.
“All of those crimes are alcohol related,” Hardina said.
Carbajal said the apartments north of Broadway Road near the Tempe campus are one of the areas where the most incidents in the past have occurred.
Criminal damage, aggravated and sexual assaults, litter and the things that affect the quality of life are of the many problems police come across when responding to house parties and other similar incidents, Carbajal said.
“It’s not just the party; it’s a bigger picture to us because there’s all the things that come with the parties,” Carbajal said.
For example, Vista Del Sol statistically has the highest police call rates, Hardina said, but forces are going to be spread across the Tempe campus evenly.
The police departments increase enforcement around the City of Tempe at the beginning of every school year to coincide with beginning of the high schools as well. Carbajal said this campaign is not just aimed at combating violations with college students but high school students, too.
“There’s a lot of other students that are starting school,” Carbajal said. “We understand that those students have parties as well; it’s a citywide approach to these problems.”
Patrol strength is around seven to 12 officers on the average weekend, Hardina said.
“In addition to that we’ll have about 15 or 16 officers in uniform and undercover through out the residence halls working with special alcohol detail,” Hardina said. “Students will definitely see the police around the residence halls.”
Both Hardina and Carbajal said that police want to set the tone early in the school year and make their presence felt around the area.
“Our goal is not to kill anybody’s fun, but (our goal is) to provide a safe environment,” Carbajal said.
“We encourage people to come to Tempe, we encourage people to have fun. We also encourage people to be responsible and to be lawful when they’re doing those events at parties.”
Reach the reporter at sraymundo@asu.edu
