Police prepare for increased presence over Homecoming weekend

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Homecoming weekend will be met with an increased number of police officers to keep parties and other extra activities under control.

The Isabella County Sheriff’s Department and the Central Michigan University Police both said they plan on having extra staff available.

CMU Police Lt. Cameron Wassman said police will pay attention primarily during the football game, Friday night and Saturday night.

“We are out and about, like we normally are. We may have some extra staff here and there, but the main focus is on that football weekend evening,” Wassman said. “We see an increased level of things that go on due to the increased level of people that might be in town or activities that are going on. There are different activities that go on with increased foot traffic.”

Wassman said during Homecoming Weekend there is an increase in general incidences such as MIP, drunk driving, property damage and disorderly conduct.

Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said his department’s focus will be patrolling and monitoring on the south side of the CMU campus to make sure things are going smoothly.

“We will be bringing in a few extra officers and those officers will be roaming between apartment complexes that we are responsible for,” Mioduszewski said. “They’ll be monitoring all parties outside if there are real large gatherings and they’ll ask them to split up just to avoid any various issues.”

Wassman said he has no reason to think Homecoming Weekend will be more problematic than most weekends, nor will it be any more or less activity for the police officers.

“It’s similar to Welcome Weekend, just because there seem to be more parties going on,” Wassman said.

Mioduszewski said the extra amount of people around during Homecoming weekend has never caused any significant problems.

“We haven’t seen a major increase in crime. We’ve been pretty fortunate over the years that there may be a few more people around than a typical football game,” Mioduszewski said. “Most of the time, people are here just to have a good time and see old friends.”

He said the most important thing for people during Homecoming weekend to remember is to be responsible.

“Our goal is to make sure everyone has fun, but in a legal manner,” Mioduszewski said. “We just ask everybody to be responsible, enjoy themselves, follow the laws. Don’t drink so much that you can’t control yourself and do something stupid and get yourself into hot water.”