Officers prepare for celebrations

Indiana State Police, Monroe County sheriffs and Bloomington and IU police officers will be in and around Bloomington for Final Four celebrations Saturday night. The IU residence halls will also increase their staff for the weekend to assist the needs of students. \nOfficials said they are well-prepared as they expect an exciting, smooth-running weekend.\n"Overall, 100 or more officers will be on duty this weekend," said Sheriff Stephen Sharp of the Monroe County Sheriff Department. \nMonroe County sheriffs will have approximately 12 officers on duty this weekend to support IU and Bloomington police, Sharp said. Officers will focus their efforts on outlying areas of the city but also have a tactical team ready to deal with specific situations as they arise. \n"We have extra people working in the jail, and there are also extra people working in the prosecutor's office," Sharp said.\nLt. Michael Saltzman of the Indiana State Police's Bloomington office said the Indiana State Police will also have 12 officers in Bloomington Saturday. \n"These officers will mainly be a support unit for both the Indiana University Police Department and the Bloomington Police Department," Saltzman said. "They will aid other local law enforcement with crowd control and directing traffic as needed."\nThe IUPD plans to have 50 uniformed officers at various places on campus, including the residence halls. Officers and cadets are on stand-by this weekend so they can be called in on short notice. \n"Our main goal is not to start arresting people," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. "Our primary responsibility is to keep IU property from being damaged and keep people from being hurt."\nLike many other law enforcement agencies in Bloomington, the IUPD is accustomed to dealing with large crowds on the IU campus. Students have gathered on campus for a number of reasons ranging from political protests in the '70s, Little 500 riots and most recently the Bobby Knight riots in 2000. \n"This weekend's plans are relatively the same for any prospect of a large gathering of students. These gatherings happen so frequently that plans here have been in place for quite a while," Minger said. "However, we will deal with each incident on its merit." \nResidence halls will also see staff increases this weekend. \n"All residence hall staff are on duty this weekend," IU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Richard McKaig said. \nEven staff members who would have usually gone home for Easter weekend are staying in town. Administrators said they want to make sure staff members are available to address student issues and assure students' safety. \nThe BPD will have a total of 60 officers on duty Saturday, Cpt. Mike Diekhoff said. Officers are trained to handle riots, he said. Police plan to monitor the city, addressing specific situations as they arise. Officers will be observing traffic and shutting down streets where large crowds are gathering, Diekhoff said. In addition to their normal attire, officers will be wearing helmets for protection. However, officers are prepared to put on full riot gear if necessary. \nOfficers are expecting the same activity as last Saturday. Hundreds of people gathered in crowds on Kirkwood Avenue eventually ending in Showalter Fountain. \n"It's mostly students, and the public's enthusiastic and happy about how well the team is doing," Saltzman said. "There haven't been any serious problems. Everything has been running quite smoothly." \nDespite the large crowds, there were not many incidents, Diekhoff said. Bloomington police recorded two arrests last weekend. Students were climbing trees, jumping into crowds and setting small fires. Damage to IU property was held to a minimum, Minger said. \nBloomington police are taking more precautions this weekend because they are expecting larger crowds. But they don't expect these crowds to be more violent, Diekhoff said. \nOfficials encourage students and residents to celebrate safely. \nHoosiers head coach Mike Davis conveyed the team's expectation of fans in Bloomington.\n"We have class fans at Indiana University," he said, "and we certainly want them to handle themselves in a class manner when they celebrate our success"