F-M 'Party Patrol' busy as college classes resume

Police are sending a message to college students: Parties will be shut down.

The message was heard loud and clear this past weekend, when Fargo police cited 18 people for minor in consumption and 15 people for throwing loud parties.

Five people were cited for both.

The number of citations was unusually high for a weekend and many were handed out by a special detail, said Fargo Police Sgt. Jeff Skuza, who added it was no accident the reappearance of the so-called "Party Patrol" coincided with the return of college students.

Moorhead police officers devoted 20 extra hours to party and alcohol enforcement Friday and Saturday, but citation numbers were not available Monday, Lt. Chris Carey said.

With classes resuming, thousands of students will be dispersing to bars and party houses across the area this fall. And that gives police quite a headache.

"Off-campus parties are a far greater problem than bars," Moorhead Police Chief David Ebinger said.

With several alcohol-related deaths in young adults in the past few years, police vow to crack down on college parties.

"We're going to hold landlords accountable," Ebinger said. "(And) we're going to shut down party houses."

As for bars, they'll be cracking down on underage drinking and fake IDs.

Chumley's owner Gary Peterson said the bar has always worked to keep underage drinkers and fake IDs out of the Moorhead bar.

Ebinger said police do their part by educating students on the hazards of irresponsible drinking.

In Fargo, police also work closely with North Dakota State University to meet with campus groups to get the message across.

Police Chief Keith Ternes said that what some have dubbed the "Party Patrol" are simply extra officers designated to handle party calls.

Before the extra staffing, officers couldn't respond to party calls right away because they were swamped with others.

Up to nine officers will be on staff at a time, Ternes said.

Staffing is a struggle in Moorhead, too, Ebinger said. They'll have up to eight officers on. But a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and in association with the three area colleges, allows officers to work overtime.

That helps, Ebinger said, because police are bombarded with the task of controlling the party scene at Concordia College and MSUM.

"We've had incidences when we've had to call in reinforcements," he said.

Forum reporter Dave Olson

contributed to this article.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Kelly Smith at (701) 235-7311