Public Comment

How bad is it? It's much worse than you think if you live in the north half of the Willard neighborhood. There were two out of control parties on my block last weekend as well as several less wild parties on the same block. 

I called the police at 11pm and was told that they were dealing with another issue in West Berkeley and it would likely be a long time before anyone was available. I asked for the incident number and got one (578). I asked that the officer call me once (s)he had responded. 

I never got a call. The parties were loud and disruptive well past mid-night - as well as clearly drunk people moving between parties - mostly on the sidewalk but also in the street. 

When I called the BPD this morning I found that the officer showed up at the party house at 4am - and he found it quiet. I also found out that the party patrol was not in action last night (Sunday night) - even though it was a holiday night, the BPD & UCPD didn't extend the party patrol to cover that obvious party night. 

I'd give party control this weekend an F - both for responsiveness and for effectiveness. 

The 6 week limit that financial constraints have put on the program makes it too short, but it hardly makes a difference if we get so little enforcement during those 6 weeks. 

Reporting like the piece in the Daily Cal (Frat Hop like a Bro) only make matters worse. The reporter treats alcohol abuse like a game with the winner being invited back for more fun and games. 

I hope our electeds can find the money in the budget to effectively enforce Berkeley's noise and second response ordinance throughout the year.