As Ball State University students approach their second weekend on campus, they should recall two familiar public service announcements: Buckle up, and don’t drink and drive.
The University Police Department is participating in Operation Pullover, a statewide enforcement campaign designed to promote road safety.
Between now and Labor Day, UPD will be cracking down on drunken driving and failure to wear seat belts on and around campus, University Police Chief Gene Burton said.
“We had 22 arrests this weekend for a variety of offenses, from driving under the influence to minor consumption to public intoxication,” Burton said. “That was pretty normal for a first weekend back.”
However, with more officers patrolling the area and looking for violations, Burton hopes students will practice more responsibility. If not, they will face more citations for not buckling up or arrests for driving under the influence.
“With manpower problems last weekend, we didn’t have as many out as we wanted to, but we’re going to continue that,” Burton said.
The police department does not use officers that are already on regular patrol for Operation Pullover since it is designed to pull in extra help, Burton said. He emphasized that the police department is always enforcing the law, but the special campaign allows for more officers to work on a concentrated effort.
“During this time, there is more money available (so) that the officers work extra hours and work overtime with those enforcement goals in mind,” he said.
The department has participated in the campaign for the past five to six years, said police Sgt. Rhonda Clark. This initiative, one of four blitzes that take place during the year, is funded using the $5,000 the UPD received from the Governor’s Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving,
“It saves lives,” Clark said. “You can’t put a value on a person’s life, so I think any amount of money it takes to save a person’s life is well worth it.”
When the initiative first began, the number of arrests rose because focus on the violations increased. Since then, however, the number of arrests and citations has been consistently lower, Clark said.
“It is showing that it does save lives,” she said. “And of course it’s almost second-nature to put that seat belt on, so we have seen an increase in awareness of it.”
The next blitz will take place during the Thanksgiving holiday in November, but Burton said he hopes the entire year will go smoothly.
“I’d like to have a year like last year,” he said. “Last year was a fairly quiet and good year as far as criminal activity around campus.”
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