While students put finishing touches on their costumes this Halloween weekend, the Boston University Police Department will put six extra officers on the streets to make sure there are no unwanted scares.
“It’s like a Saturday night on steroids,” said BUPD captain Robert Molloy.
Molloy said the increase of officers is necessary because of the extra action on the city streets.
“There is a heated atmosphere, more people are out, more people are on the streets,” he said.
The six extra officers will include two in plain clothes and four on motorcycles, said Molloy.
The extra enforcement will be deployed the 30th rather than on Halloween, which falls on a Sunday this year.
“We anticipate that’s when most of the parties are going to be,” Molloy said.
But tricks may not be BUPD’s biggest concern this weekend.
Crime does not appear to peak significantly peak on Halloween weekends, BUPD Officer Peter Shin said.
Molloy said BUPD’s main concern is abuse of alcohol.
Last Halloween weekend, there were 11 alcohol transports, incidents in which students were taken to medical facilities for alcohol abuse, according to BUPD reports.
However, there were only five transports Halloween 2008 and none in 2007, according to BUPD records.
College of General Studies sophomore Daniel Harris said BUPD’s concern about alcohol abuse on Halloween is justified.
“People get excited about going out and partying and see it as an opportunity to get more hammered than usual,” Harris said. “I think substance abuse definitely picks up during Halloween weekend.”
Harris also said while some students may get sick on this holiday, older students are able to handle their liquor.
“They may throw up but they’re not going to the hospital,” he said.
Some students, such as School of Education junior Ellen Belinsky, said on Halloween, strange costumes go hand in hand with strange behavior.
“People are prone to do things because people can’t see who they are,” she said. “It’s this whole thing of having different identities,” she said.
BUPD said that on Halloween, it’s harder for them to identify suspects if a crime is committed.
“The there is always a scare of robberies because people are in costume and you can’t identify them,” Molloy said.
Other students, such as SED junior Meryl Becourtney, don’t think crime increases on Halloween, just students’ celebrations.
“There’s a high concentration of celebration in one weekend,” she said.
Becourtney said that like with the Boston Marathon, police expect to see more violations.
“They just anticipate certain types of behavior to be more visible,” she said.
Mike Jablow, a School of Management and SAR junior, said extra patrols are not necessary on Halloween.
“Halloween weekend is just what college kids do,” he said. “We go out and have fun, they may break rules and have a few drinks but they’ll be fine.”
Staff writer Suzanne Schiavone contributed to the reporting of this article
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