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University police busy over winter break
BY SARA JOCHEMS
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/17
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY
POLICE
Photo of a reported couch stolen
between Sunday and Monday morning.
Although many students were off-campus during winter break, university police were watching Duluth with regards to drinking and driving. Third- and fourth-degree DWIs were issued to non-students between Dec. 21 and Dec. 30, 2007. Lt. Anne Peterson, of the university police, specified the difference between the two types of DWIs that were issued.
“A third degree is considered a gross-misdemeanor, whereas a fourth degree is simply a misdemeanor,” Peterson said. “In this case, the suspect was given a third- degree ticket because of aggravating factors. He refused to have his blood alcohol level tested.” Not only were police out issuing DWI tickets because of the holidays, but also because of something called Safe and Sober Night, said Peterson. “A number of our officers are paid to strictly go out and patrol the roads for signs of drivers behind the wheel while under the influence,” she said.
Peterson stressed that Safe and Sober Night originates from the Safe and Sober Campaign, which can be found through the Minnesota Department for Public Safety’s Web site. According to the city of Minnetrista Web site, in October 2003, the Minnetrista Public Safety Department joined with other police departments around the state of Minnesota in the Safe and Sober Campaign. The program financially allows extra officers to be on the streets to enforce seatbelt and speeding laws and to keep drunk drivers off of the roads, according to the Web site.
When the new year rolled around, university police were also busy handing out no-drop tickets. “No-drop tickets pertain to drivers who are caught drinking and driving under the age of 21,” Peterson said. “Even though their blood alcohol levels are under .08, because they are underage, their ticket will not be taken off of their permanent record.” Peterson said if people choose to drink, they should also choose to dress accordingly with regards to the weather. “You never know what could happen,” she said. “Someone may trip and fall or become tired and fall asleep and seeing that it is the time of year when temperatures are colder, more devastating consequences can occur.”
Besides alcohol related incidents, university police had to deal with possession of stolen property. Specifically speaking, one of the Griggs dorm rooms contained a stolen traffic sign from Wisconsin. “During a routine room check, after the dorms are locked up over break, an RA found a stop sign in a room,” Peterson said. “After students returned to the dorms, the RA notified police of the stolen sign.” According to the report, the student said that he didn’t “steal it, he got it from a friend about 10 years ago.”
University police contacted the Lake Geneva police, where the sign came from, but it is unknown what is going to happen. Besides a road sign, university property was reported stolen on Monday, Jan. 22. “A brand new, two-seated, light oak wooden couch with blue fabric worth $566 was stolen in the Lake Superior lobby between 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 and 8 a.m. Jan. 22,” Peterson said.
She stressed that if anyone has information about the theft, to please contact university police. “Remember to keep doors locked and take note of the serial numbers of personal items,” she said. “It is easier for us to track things down with that information.” Peterson also advises students that personal valuables should not be left in cars because they too are targets.
