Despite unseasonable snow, local law enforcement agencies targeted underage consumption of alcohol and driving while under the influence during last weekend’s Spring Jam festivities.
According to police reports:
University police, Minneapolis police, Hennepin County and State Patrol officers cited 52 people for underage consumption during Operation NightCAP last weekend.
The officers also cited two
people for consuming alcohol in public and five minors for possession of alcohol.
Six people were arrested and booked in Hennepin County Jail for driving while intoxicated.
University police usually coordinate Operation NightCAP – the nighttime Concentrated Alcohol Patrol – during Homecoming and Spring Jam weekends, said University police Capt. Steve Johnson.
“I think Operation NightCAP was successful all and all,” he said.
Johnson said Operation NightCAP decreases the number of students who drink and drive because students are aware of the increased police presence and choose not to drink and act irresponsibly.
“It’s a reminder for everybody to be safe,” he said. “The point is to make people safe and responsible, to think about what they’re doing.”
Officers specifically look for people drinking and driving, he said.
“If we get those people off the road, we could have saved that many lives,” Johnson said.
In other police news:
ï University police arrested an 18-year-old University student and a 21-year-old University student April 23 for possession of drug paraphernalia at Territorial Hall, according to the police report.
Police were dispatched to the residence hall because of a suspicious odor, according to the report.
Johnson said the number of drug-related arrests on campus has remained steady over the past few years.
The most common drug found on campus is marijuana, he said.
University police also make narcotics arrests of students and non-students during traffic stops, Johnson said.
University police found 0.9 grams of cocaine in another suspect’s purse after a traffic stop April 24 on Interstate 35 near University Avenue Southeast, according to the police report.
ï According to the police report:
A 19-year-old University student’s purse was stolen April 23 from a park on 15th Avenue Southeast.
The victim told police she left her purse unattended on a picnic table with other students’ purses and backpacks.
The group went to the other side of the park building, and when they returned, her purse was missing. There is no information about a suspect.
Joanna Dornfeld welcomes comments at [email protected]