A program that allows individual or groups of clubs and bars to hire Metropolitan Police Department details at reduced cost will continue to operate next year and receive another $1 million in funding - a move AU students have mixed reactions about.
The "reimbursable detail program," which D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, introduced in late January, allows nightclubs to act individually or in groups to hire uniformed police details but to pay half of an officer's normal overtime wages. The District's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration will reimburse officers for the other half of the overtime pay, according to the Georgetown Current.
Alessandra Conti, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, said she did not like the program, which she described as being "too institutionalized."
"When you go [to the club], you want to have fun, you want to relax," she said.
Conti said, the presence of uniformed police would go beyond the prevention of dangerous behavior and would inhibit club patrons from enjoying themselves. She said she also thinks no teenagers would go to clubs in areas where the police program was put into effect.
Since the program's inception, a variety of areas in the District have already instituted the program. The Golden Triangle, a commercial district directly south of Dupont Circle that contains a large number of bars and clubs, have requested especially large details, the Current reported.
Jeremy Gifford, owner of Fly Lounge, located in the Golden Triangle told the Current he thinks the program is an effective deterrent from driving under the influence or physically assaulting other patrons.
Though the program is intended to deter serious offenses such as DUIs and physical fighting, younger students say the program is a significant barrier to enjoying the nightclub scene.
Spencer Siegel, a junior in SPA, said he thinks the program is a good idea.
"As someone who's 21, I think it's a great idea," he said. "I don't want to see 18-year-olds in the club."
Other students shared this approval for the program and said they felt the increased police presence was a useful safety measure.
Since the beginning of the year, the number of ABRA charges and alcohol related crimes has increased, with fines and citations up almost 1,000 percent from 2007, according to statistics published on ABRA's Web site.
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