Police keep the party peace downtown on New Year's Eve

A Sunday morning walk through downtown Grand Forks often reveals clues of revelry from the night before - mixed drinks in plastic cups abandoned on street corners, vomit splotches on the sidewalk, broken beer bottles in the alley.

All of this is fairly normal in college towns, where youthful indiscretion and independence collide, but on nights particularly associated with partying such as New Year's Eve, law enforcement tries to increase its presence to ensure a good time for some does not lead to a dangerous situation for others.

Lt. Bill Macki oversees the uniform patrol bureau for the Grand Forks Police Department and is in charge of ensuring there is adequate police presence to handle whatever the weekend brings.

At least 12 officers are on patrol on any given weekend night between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., when the afternoon and overnight shifts intersect, Macki said. On weekends such as New Year's, that number will reach about 18.

Impaired drivers

Two of those officers specifically focus on impaired driving, which is funded by a grant from the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The department applies for the grant and receives it almost every year.

"It's extra money that they provide to us to try to keep our roadways safe," Macki said.

The department is required to use the grant money between Dec. 16 and Dec. 31, so they like to save it for New Year's Eve.

The holiday is a busy one for Grand Forks bars and restaurants, with a large crowd coming out to celebrate.

"It's a very busy day for us," said John Christensen, a manager at The Loft Bar and Grill on DeMers Avenue.

It's also a night where the bar sees a different crowd than its college-aged regulars, with many students still out of town for winter break and more locals hitting the town than normal.

This year, The Loft is doing a 1,000 balloon drop at midnight and will have a champagne toast. Christensen said the bar typically doesn't have a problem with rowdy customers, but when it does, it's been easy to work with police.

"We've always had a great relationship with the Grand Forks Police Department," he said.

Macki said police try to keep good relationships with owners of bars and restaurants, where they are called on a semi-regular basis to deal with unruly customers.

Keeping it clear

Outside of monitoring for intoxicated drivers, police focus on making sure congested bar areas stay safe during the busiest hours of the night.

"Typically during that 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. time frame, when we have both shifts working, we'll have at least two officers in the downtown area," Macki said. "But it's quite common during high-traffic hours - about half an hour before the bars close to half an hour after the bars close - that we'll call in other units that are close to the downtown area."

Anyone passing through downtown around bar close can expect to see six to eight officers in the area on a weekend night. Macki said the main goal is for officers to keep people moving and to diffuse situations before they turn south.

"It's just a good way to encourage people to leave when the bars are closing and not mill around in the streets," he said. "Because oftentimes when we have people who have been consuming a large amount of alcohol and they don't disperse in a timely manner, they start getting involved in activities such as fighting or things like that, so we have a strong presence at that time to encourage people to make their way home."

Macki said the officers focus on keeping people moving and de-escalating situations.

"If they see anything they think might result in an altercation, they try to get out early and go chat with the people," he said. "It doesn't mean they're going to take a report or any enforcement activity."

Oftentimes officers having a quick conversation with people resolves the issue.

"Our philosophy is to make sure the public is safe," he said.