Police crack down on Allston, Brookline

The Boston University Police Department and Boston Police Department increased patrols as part of their “organized and intensive” enforcement program to curb underage and binge drinking around campus and in surrounding neighborhoods, according to BUPD officials.

In an email sent to students, BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins announced that police would start adding patrol units over the weekend to identify potential threats and handle individuals who present a danger to others.

“The Boston Police and Boston University Police departments will share information and collaborate with each other to assess, investigate, and address outstanding and reoccurring public safety issues,” Robbins wrote in the email. “We will be monitoring off-campus gatherings to curb binge drinking, underage drinking and other activities that are unlawful and potentially dangerous.”

BUPD Captain Robert Molloy said in an interview that both forces will keep an eye on neighborhoods that students frequent, including roads in Allston such as Gardner Street, Ashford Street and Pratt Street.

“Boston Police are working with the BU Police to get this done,” Molloy said. “They’re going to be out there, working with us and we’re going to have a large enforcement habit. We’re going to be patrolling where the parties are, and a lot of our intoxicated students end up coming from the [Gardner, Ashford and Pratt] area.”

The program also extends into neighborhoods in Brookline, including Dexter Park, Freeman Street and Pleasant Street, Molloy said. BUPD will dispatch officers on bicycle, working with the Brookline Police.

“We’ve also alerted the Brookline police to patrol past these liquor stores where minors are buying or they’re getting other people to buy for them,” he said. “They’ll be arrested for procuring alcohol to a minor.”

The consequences for drinking underage include medical transport, arrest and summons, after the report is written and sent to judicial affairs, Molloy said.

“What we really want to do is not take anybody by surprise,” he said. “It’s not like we haven’t told you, so we hope to get out there and not find anything.”

BPD will have officers patrolling both in uniform and undercover, particularly in places where repeat offenses occur, Robbins said.

“We look at [statistics] and then we talk to Boston,” he said. “We say, ‘We know the weekend’s coming up, there’s a ton of people heading out into the community, so we want to make sure we have enough officers to provide safety and to enforce any violations of the law.’”

Some students, such as Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Michaela Lacy, said they approve of BUPD’s program.

“I think it’ll raise the standards because college is supposed to be about studying, not about drinking and partying,” she said.

While others, such Annie Dubois, a College of Engineering sophomore, expressed more doubts.

“I guess it’s good to have more cops for safety reasons, but the ambulance policy is kind of ridiculous,” Dubois said.