Cop talk
An interview with a member of the Athens Police Department
By Laura McMullen, Staff Writer
March 19, 2008 | 3 p.m.
On a typical Saturday night, the drunkards of Athens seem to thrive in a lawless land. With underage students shamelessly sneaking into bars and flaunting fake IDs, one has to wonder if there’s anyone out there actually patrolling the town.
Speakeasy had the chance to sit down and talk to Lt. Jeff McCall of the Athens Police Department, who gave some insight into how to curb the drinking in Athens.
Speakeasy: First things first. Do you feel like underage drinking in Athens is a problem?
Lt. McCall: I think that it’s definitely a problem. Some of that is the availability of it, whether it be at the bars or house parties, wherever it may be. And then also, with the reduced staffing, we don’t have the opportunity to enforce some of the liquor laws the best that we’d like to.
Speakeasy: Could you talk a little bit more about this reduced staffing?
Lt. McCall: At one point, we had a good amount of people, but we’re down in staff right now. When I first started, we had 14 people from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Now, at those same times, we have four or five. So our priority is violent-type, instead of low-levels, crimes. Normally, people aren’t getting hurt, but that’s not saying it’s always the case. A lot of this can lead to other crimes like criminal mischief or vandalism. It could also lead to, unfortunately, girls or guys (it has happened) getting raped.
Speakeasy: I’ve talked to several bartenders and students about underage drinking here and almost all of them insist that it’s a problem at every campus. Could you comment on that?
Lt. McCall: Speaking to other officers at other campuses, they have the exact same problems that we do.
Speakeasy: It seems like the OU administration has been making a pretty huge effort to “clean up” Athens’ drunken image. Do you think the situation with drinking uptown has gotten better — are less people drinking or has it become more controlled?
Lt. McCall: Our arrests are way down, but that’s not because it’s not happening. It’s because we don’t have the people to devote to that. Plus, if you go back to about 1998, we had a grant in which we worked with Ohio Department of Public Safety and Liquor Enforcement. Both APD and OUPD had “every-time bodies” specifically designated to deal with underage drinking — sitting on bars, sitting on carry-outs, trying to deter and also arrest people for it. And we also had classes with the bars on how to identify fake IDs and what they can do if someone tries to drink underage.
Speakeasy: So because this grant has disappeared and you’re understaffed, you have just enough manpower to handle the big stuff — not so much the little crimes that can become more dangerous?
Lt. McCall: Yeah, normally we are responding to calls, and we can’t just go out and be proactive...[for example] if we see someone with an open container, we can go up and confront them. Normally, it’s call after call. We don’t have the opportunity to do other things.
Speakeasy: On an average Friday or Saturday night, about how many arrests do you make?
Lt. McCall: I would say between four and six arrests.
Speakeasy: Can you think of any solutions to help bring the drinking level down in Athens — be it from an administrative or police position?
Lt. McCall: One, more officers or more enforcement, that’s definitely key. [Also] a partnership with the bars, to where they understand that we’re there to assist them, to prevent them [from] getting sanctions on their license. Another spot to start would be with the university. A lot of times you see students who aren’t too concerned about going to court. If you’re a law-abiding citizen for a year or two, that [alcohol offense] can be wiped off your record. Or if they go to a diversion program, it never ends up on their record. But if they go to the university after they’ve been charged, then they can be looking at getting thrown out of school after a couple violations.
Speakeasy: So students, upon arrest, must face OU Judiciaries and may suffer serious consequences regarding their future. You think that this is a positive step toward a more sober Athens?
Lt. McCall: Yes, I think that carries more weight because it’s looking at their future.
After talking to Lt. McCall, underage drinking seems to be a common problem among campuses, but it's still a serious problem nonetheless. Now we have an idea why we don't see cops arresting every single drunk person uptown. Reduced staffing leads to reduced policing.
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