As part of October's Crime Prevention Month, the University Police Department is planning new measures to increase awareness and educate students about safety. Amplified efforts to enforce alcohol violations are also in the works.
After receiving a $5,000 grant through the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's Operation Undergrad program, police are hoping to curb underage drinking. This marks the third year ABC has given the grant to the University.
"Officers will be out looking for violations, ranging from minor in possession of alcohol, drunk in public, drinking in public and driving under the influence," University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding said.
Money from the grant will be used to implement extra law enforcement on Central Grounds, including McCormick and Alderman roads, and extending to Rugby Road on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Fielding said.
Police also anticipate encountering and confiscating fake IDs in their campaign, she said.
Dedicated to nationwide efforts to reduce alcohol consumption by underage college students, the aim of Operation Undergrad is to motivate campus police departments to collaborate with local officials to enforce drinking laws, ABC spokesman Gregory P. Bilyeu said.
"ABC believes strongly in community collaboration and establishing working coalitions to achieve a common end," Bilyeu said. "Building working partnerships at the college and community level is the key to the success of ABC's comprehensive programs related to underage drinking."
ABC's grant program is part of a continued effort to prevent alcohol sales and service to underage buyers. ABC agents make regular visits to establishments that sell alcohol, but they often increase visits near college campuses, particularly at the beginning of the school year.
Starting this month, enforcement also will focus on the increased incidents of drinking and driving. University Police estimate that its officers made about 30 related arrests between November and March last school year. "It's a large number compared to years past," Fielding said.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the United States experienced its largest percentage increase in alcohol-related traffic deaths on record last year.
In 2000, 16,653 people were killed in crashes across the nation involving alcohol, representing 40 percent of the 41,821 people killed in all traffic crashes (versus 38.3 percent alcohol-related fatalities in 1999).
"Most kids think they're invincible," said S. Chris Curtis, director of ABC's Bureau of Enforcement, in a statement. "We don't. ABC special agents are saving lives by enforcing underage drinking laws"
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