If University Police Department Chief John Feeney were a betting man, he would bet his money on more than one or two calls of people under the influence of alcohol this weekend.
Labor Day weekend is approaching and Feeney said the University Police is prepared to have a full complement of officers on duty working in conjunction with Chico Police.
Because it is considered a high-enforcement weekend, Feeney said there will be officers patrolling the area in addition to University Police. The list includes Chico Police, California Highway Patrol and Alcoholic Beverage Control.
“There will be undercover agents from the ABC out of Sacramento and Redding,” he said. “They will be around and their focus is on students in possession, minors in possession of alcohol and also students who are intoxicated.”
He said officers will predominantly focus on patrolling south campus neighborhoods, downtown and the area surrounding Chico campus. Feeney said he will most likely be walking around town with Chico State President Gayle Hutchinson on Friday and with the Chico police chief on Saturday.
In addition, there will also be a social responsibility program in place countywide. Feeney said if anyone under the age of 24 is arrested for being under the influence of alcohol this weekend there will be consequences; they will be subject to mandatory booking or they will be put in jail for four hours until they are sober, they will pay for and attend a class at Butte College, pay a fee and work an eight-hour day for the Butte County Public Works Department.
Underage students and students who are away from home for the first time are often most at risk of abusing alcohol, Feeney said.
“It’s one thing to have adult students, 21 and over, being able to party and drink,” he said. “But often times we have underage students who it’s their first time away from home and they don’t know their limits. Unfortunately, they’re the ones who are unable to care for themselves and get placed in a position where their safety is at risk and we want to avoid that.”
Bianca Quilantan can be reached at [email protected] or @biancaquilan on Twitter.
