With Little 500 festivities set to begin on campus, knowing the laws and what to expect from police might prove beneficial when making decisions about where to party this week.\nPolice presence in Bloomington increases during what has been called “America’s greatest college weekend.” But local law-enforcement officers say that playing it smart is the best bet to stay out of trouble.
Drinking outside\nPlaying beer pong on the sidewalk in front of your house might seem harmless, but police can confront you on your own property if they suspect you are underage.\n“If a person is young in appearance and consuming in a way where you can see them in plain view, an officer has the right to see how old they are and ask for their ID,” said Officer Brenda Scott of the Indiana State Excise Police.\n“It’s not a common practice to just go up to someone,” said Joe Crider of the Bloomington Police Department, “but if you look young or are bringing attention to yourself, we will approach you.”\nPeople of legal age are allowed to drink outside on their own property. When parties run into the streets and sidewalks, police find a problem.\n“You can’t consume an alcoholic beverage on a city sidewalk, an alley, a city park, a city street, any public place,” Crider said. “Say, for instance, the guests at a party are consuming alcohol in their front yard. That is legal. It’s when they’re drinking and walking on sidewalks and the road or a public street is when it’s unlawful.”
Fake IDs\nIf you’ve ever questioned the believability of your fake ID in the past, this week might not be the best time to test it out. \n“I know there will be a large gathering of people downtown during Little 5,” Crider said. “We definitely will have a large police presence at the bars. We will have a large volume of people patrolling the area more.” \nIf you do decide to venture to the bars underage, don’t leave your real ID at home. Police have the right to hold you in jail until you can prove your real identity, IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger said. \nMost likely you won’t get off scot-free, but you might save yourself a night behind bars by being able to prove your actual age. However, if you are found carrying two forms of ID – even if you are “holding it for your friend” – police can assume you were intending to use the fake ID for yourself.\n“By you having it in your possession it’s evidence that you might use it,” Minger said. “It’s not an assumption. It is what the law deems – that you have it there for that purpose of trying to drink when you aren’t of legal age.”
Drinking and driving\nThere won’t be sobriety checkpoints during Little 500 week, but there will be an increased presence from the Bloomington Police Department, IUPD and Indiana State Excise Police patrolling the roads for drunk drivers, Crider said.\nEven with a sober driver, you can still get in trouble for being under 21 and under the influence in a car. If the police pull the car over and smell alcohol or see – suspect – people drinking, officers don’t have to use a Breathalyzer to determine whether people in the car are intoxicated. Today, a failed field sobriety test is enough to warrant a drinking ticket or an arrest for a passenger, Scott said. \nAdditionally, sober drivers who aren’t 21 can run into trouble if they are transporting alcohol.\n“The statewide law is that you can’t transport alcohol unless you are with parents or a legal guardian, or you’re 21, obviously,” Scott said. “So even if you’re sober and your friends have some beers in the back, you’re at fault.”
Noise and house parties\nEven if everyone at the party is of age and no one is breaking a law, police can still stop by if there is excessive noise, Crider said. \n“What generally happens is people are drinking and have a lot of patrons over and they are playing loud stereos, and someone complains,” he said. “If we can confirm it, they’ll get a noise violation. If we give them one and it continues, patrons are subject to disorderly conduct.”\nMost fraternities that have concerts obtained a permit from the city that affords them an opportunity to play loud music on a certain night, Crider said. \n“If they have a noise permit, we won’t stop by, generally,” he said. “We may have a complaint, but we won’t take action for the loud party if they have that permit.” \nSmallwood Plaza, 455 N. College Ave., is the one place in town where police have a limited scope of authority. The apartment complex employs private security guards and has a deal with the city that essentially keeps police away from the property.\n“Smallwood Plaza has a private security that patrols inside there and they handle the party and noise complaints,” Crider said. “However, the BPD will respond if anyone has a call for an emergency.”
Just play it smart\nBreaking the law is never acceptable, Minger said, but it’s not hard to stay out of trouble during Little 5 week.\n“I can guarantee you that no one will be arrested this week or any other week unless they draw negative attention to themselves,” he said. “Don’t put yourself in the public eye if you’re not 21 and inebriated or loud and boisterous. No one will be arrested for sitting in their house drinking and not causing any problems.”
