There were house parties, street vomiting, public cursing, random acts of inebriation, and public urination (even from balconies). Although Public Safety Director Bill Bergin was calling for an end to the parade before the wild weekend ended, Acting Police Chief Robert Lisa said his department was prepared for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and was sufficiently staffed to deal with the litany of offenses. “It wasn’t like we lost control of the city,” he said this morning. “The men and women [of the police department] worked hard that day.”
At 4 p.m. on Saturday, peak time for offenses, the city had 120 officers—mostly from Hoboken—on the streets, Lisa said. NJ Transit, Port Authority, and the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department sent a total of 26 officers to assist during the day. Scattered across several shifts, 84 Hoboken police officers volunteered to work overtime at the parade.
Police made five arrests, ticketed 12 drivers for moving violations, issued 143 parking tickets (which does not include those issued by the Parking Utility), impounded 32 vehicles, and wrote 411 summonses for city ordinance violations.
Public injury incidences are still being tallied, but Lisa said no major injuries were reported to his knowledge. Bergin said over the weekend that most injuries involved facial traumas either from fist fights or falling down drunk.
No TVs were tossed as was reported over the weekend, Lisa said today, and aside from a couple of assault charges, no violent crimes were reported. Lisa said that some incidents called in to police might not have jibed with actual situations as police found them and that some reports over the weekend might have referenced these calls.
He said police received 71 calls for rooftop parties and another 23 for fire escape and balcony issues.
Lisa said he is still finishing his Post-Incident Report that the city will use to plan for next year’s parade, but that an increase in parade-goers is probable.
More minor arrests might have been made, Lisa said, but each arrest takes a police officer off the streets for half an hour or more. He said being on the street keeping peace is the most important responsibility the police have in these situations.
Lisa said the city government will make the final decisions about next year and the future of the event, but for his part he will prepare and improve looking to next year. And if the city can find a way to increase police presence for the event, that would also be helpful. But that’s not to say that they were understaffed, Lisa said.
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