Underage drinking on football Saturdays: Police crackdown in Ann Arbor led to crime spike
An Ann Arbor police officer writes a ticket in the middle of a city street as students party shortly before the University of Michigan football game against Michigan State last October. City officials say a crackdown on underage drinking and open intoxicants is to blame for last year's reported increase in crime.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Absent ramped-up enforcement efforts that led to hundreds of tickets, crime actually went down slightly last year, new reports from the Ann Arbor Police Department show.
The police department last month released a report showing total crimes in Ann Arbor increased by about 2.6 percent in 2010. The stats showed major crimes known as Part 1 crimes were down slightly, but lesser serious Part 2 crimes had gone up from 4,459 to 4,688.
The scene before the U-M vs. MSU football game in Ann Arbor last October.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
"The police now and then will choose to be more proactive on certain issues and that's a pretty good time because they're out on the streets anyway on football weekends," Hieftje said. "So this was enforcement they chose to do, and it sure did produce results.
"We let a lot of people know you can't walk around the streets with open alcohol containers."
The new reports from the police department show there were 78 more tickets issued for underage drinking in 2010 — up from 284 to 362. There also were 288 more tickets issued for open intoxicants — up from 154 to 442, records show.
The City Council will have to make difficult decisions about public safety in Ann Arbor before the month is over. The council will meet Monday to consider a two-year budget that includes cutting 25 positions in the police department over the next two years.
Under the first round of cuts, 13 positions in the police department would be eliminated effective July 1, including two vacant dispatch positions, one vacant telecommunicator position, one vacant police professional assistant position and one vacant officer position. Five officers, two dispatchers and one police service specialist would be laid off.
The police department has 124 sworn officers, including Police Chief Barnett Jones, who also serves as the city's fire chief now. Jones expressed hope recently that cuts to both police and fire can be minimized. Twelve firefighter positions are slated for elimination.
If cuts are necessary, Jones said he'll try to manage.
"On the police side, we have been able to shift personnel from non-patrol functions to patrol functions to keep our numbers up," he said, "and I'll be looking to try to do that as best I can."
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.
Comments
onemoremouth
Mon, May 16, 2011 : 12:51 a.m.
did anyone notice that the houses in the background are the same as the ones in the picture in the story about the house fire?
InsideTheHall
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 6:06 p.m.
How about the crime rate after midnight? Show us the data.
Joslyn at the U
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 3:40 p.m.
If your 18 and you can die for your country you should be able to drink.
swcornell
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 7:16 p.m.
They should throw them in jail until they give up their suppliers, so the real criminals, the older students, the Frats/Sororities or shops supplying them can be prosecuted. Writing them a ticket is ridiculous. But of course the police no longer arrest them, so they don't have to maintain and staff a"Drunk Tank". Instead they just send them to the Hospital and drop them off. Ask the ED nurses that are stuck baby sitting them. The nurses actually call the ones they see repeatedly as "Frequent Flyers".
15crown00
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 6:40 a.m.
it seems to me that it's futile to try to stop the kids from drinking on a Football Saturday.not that i'm endorsing that activity but it happens and it's wide spread.
Ricebrnr
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:29 p.m.
Wow, how sad is it that one can't have a good time without alcohol...
Ricebrnr
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 7:23 p.m.
Greggy, I agree that if someone wants to have fun with alcohol and it doesn't harm anyone else then sure go for it. I'd be the last person to stop them. I had 2 points to my comment. 1) That some advocates make it sound as if none of these events will be fun without alcohol. That they MUST go hand in hand. That is a sad comment to be sure. 2) IF people were in the privacy of their own homes and wanted to drink, great! The problem is that these people are NOT in their own homes. They are out in public. It's against the law. They might only be harming themselves but even so the chances of them requiring emergency services over someone who didn't drink is higher. Regards.
Greggy_D
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 6:57 p.m.
Ricebrnr, I usually agree with you 99.999% of the time. But if someone wants to have fun with alcohol, isn't that their choice? And who are we to say that their choice is "sad". If that is what they want to do to their own body (while not harming themselves or others) and that is how they have fun....so be it.
Hmm
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 6:24 p.m.
Such a true statement Ricebrnr!
no flamers!
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:19 p.m.
There are certain times and places when having a beer on the sidewalk is appropriate. A Michigan football Saturday is one of them. Rather than express disdain towards the police for enforcing a code they are responsible for enforcing, let's see the City Council react with a balanced approach that allows open intoxicants on football Saturdays within 1 mile of the stadium. Drinking is part of the football Saturday experience. Let's make it less of a hassle to have a good time. Other alcohol related offenses would still be enforced; we'd just not have it be a crime to cross the sidewalk from one tailgate party to the next.
SonnyDog09
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:14 p.m.
I see now. Hizzoner's cunning plan for reducing crime in the People's Democratic Republic of Ann Arbor is to have the police stop enforcing the law. Brilliant!
blahblahblah
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:38 p.m.
Sorry mayor, the "best of lists" rely on statistical analysis that does not differentiate types of crime. One solution to this spike would be to reduce the number of police officers...... oh yeah you already thought of that. Now we are just gonna have to take your word for it, that we really do have it so much better than all those other poor cities. In fact, we have it so much better that we can continue spending millions on all of your pet projects such as building parking structures for the U and a new train platform for a commuter rail service that does not exist.
YooperTrooper
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:34 p.m.
Funny, I was just thinking about that "spike in crime during the summer" that was expected... A "suspicious death", 3 football stories, a story from the Detroit Free Press, 20 bucks and some candy stolen last year... Is there really nothing happening or is no one paying attention?
Mick52
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:25 p.m.
Tickets for minor in possession should not be included in crime statistics. I think issuing more tickets is a revenue raising function, not a safety measure. If not, it should be. If the city needs more revenue, I am all for getting it from violators rather than everybody else. Why not make a MIP ticket a $1000 fine? Or $500, whatever the max is. Then maybe the parking fees could be lowered. That should just about do it.
Mick52
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 4:12 p.m.
No, Awakened, the FBI has nothing to do with this. The stats the FBI collect are felony only and not all felonies. I believe there are seven or so. The FBI is not interested in misdemeanors or drinking violations by youngsters.
Awakened
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 11:06 p.m.
The rules are set by the FBI. Ann Arbor's civil infraction for marijuana is also reported as a part II "crime."
Mick52
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:27 p.m.
What I mean is that MIP tickets should be civil infractions. I thought they were. Second or third offense could be misdemeanors then with higher fines.
ChunkyPastaSauce
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:17 p.m.
Title: "Underage drinking on football Saturdays: Police crackdown in Ann Arbor led to crime data spike" - implies crack down on underage drinking led to spike but data in the article: "78 more tickets issued for underage drinking" - 27% "288 more tickets issued for open intoxicants" - 73% So it would make a lot more sense if the article was: "Open intoxicants on football Saturdays: Police crackdown in Ann Arbor led to crime data spike" - implies underage drinking led to spike
ChunkyPastaSauce
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:52 p.m.
Please ignore the last line in my post, it was a typo.
Cash
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:11 p.m.
Yes, yes, only in Ann Arbor media (aka Ann Arbor Visitor and Convention Bureau) is a crime not really a crime. Laughable.
Major
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 1:58 p.m.
How does one determine a crime....is not a crime?! I've lived in this town for over 50 years, during which time there has been a battle in the press (in the now defunct, biased, rag, AA news) the entire time over the illusion there is no crime in AA and it's nothing but crime in Ypsi. True about Ypsi, not true about Ann Arbor. Anyone who owns a scanner (I do) knows the incredible amount of police activity that goes on 24/7 in AA. Including the CRIME of "underage drinking and open intoxicants", sorry AA.com, only the sheeple will believe this charade! (and to think, some at city hall want to reduce our police force...INSANE!!!)
racerx
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 1:50 p.m.
Strange. This is the same city police department, and city leaders, who would rather shut down "certain" night clubs, but, seemingly has a larger problem with drinking during football Saturday's with underage drinking. Oh right, can't shut down all of those parties. So Chief Jones will "shift personnel from non-patrol functions" will this mean that having patrol cars sitting in the parking lot of Packard road cleaners at 7:40am catching westbound traffic speeding, but since the amount of traffic at this time of the day is rather large and the lanes are now single lanes, the short period of time that a motorist is speeding is very short and limited with the AATA buses stopping along the same route.
nowayjose
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 3:58 p.m.
I don't get it. The best I can understand is you don't want cops writing speeding tickets? Guess your pen name says it all.
EyeHeartA2
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 1:02 p.m.
It' is completely beyond comprehension that if you are 19 you can: Get married - but not have wine at your reception. Go to Iraq - but not have a beer when you get home Get a $200K Mortgage - but not have a glass of champaign in your new living room. What a crock of.... time for this law to change.
swcornell
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
Just because you CAN get married at 19, should you? Just because you can go to Iraq and kill, should you? I don't know any 19 year olds that can get and keep a 200K mortgage! I remember in the 70's when we put the drinking age to 18 and the number of drinking/driving deaths increased significantly, so we all voted to put it back to 21!
EyeHeartA2
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 7:17 p.m.
@MJC; I am aware of Michigan's past , but this is the first I heard of the petition. Not to say it isn't true, I just was not aware of that part of the story. My proposal (not that anyone really cares) of 19 was to get it out of the High Schools to avoid some of the issues encountered in the past. The other part that you left out was that the federal government held highway funds hostage if the states didn't cave to the Fed's demands to increase the drinking age. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly our lawmakers are willing to trample on other peoples rights if they are unaffected. Young people seem to get it the most often. @Mohomed: Totally agree.
mohomed
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 6:35 p.m.
As much as I don't care for Canada they have it right with 19 being the age for alcohol. The drinking and driving laws have to be stepped up though for this to happen because the 21 age law was made for that.
MjC
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 5:04 p.m.
The State of Michigan actually changed the legal age for drinking to 18 back in 1972 for all the reason you argue. However, that change also brought on a clear increase in the number of young people killed while driving drunk. The increase was significant enough that a citizen petition was circulated and, thus, the legal age for drinking went back to 21. Cars are much safer now then they were back in the 70's, and I would hope that people are smarter and more responsible. Still...
rusty shackelford
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 11:38 a.m.
Awesome picture, Ryan (the 1st one). For some reason I find that shot hilarious.
The Watchman
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 11:04 a.m.
Isn't it interesting that the Mayor is explaining how the crime statistics for Part II crimes are down or skewed. No comments from police officials except the old stale quote from the Chief. Maybe the Mayor could be the Police Chief and the Police Chief could be the Fire Chief. It would seem the Mayor knows how to deploy personnel to increase ticketing opportunities as the officers are "out there already". Double bang for the bug, Ryan maybe you could ask city staff to respond to your new blogs instead of using months old quotes as the day of reckoning nears for the police department