DUI Enforcement Initiative In Place Over St. Patrick's Day Weekend
BALTIMORE (WJZ)--It's one of the biggest party weekends of the year, but last year's violence marred St. Patrick 's Day celebrations in Baltimore. This year, city police are working to keep you safe.
Amy Yensi has more on how police are trying to keep you safe this St. Patrick's Day weekend.
Police will be out in full force over the next few days with both uniformed and plain clothed cops trying to keep the order.
What often starts as fun ends in mayhem--from a mob of teens brawling at the Inner Harbor, to a neighborhood trashed by partiers.
That's why the Baltimore Police Department is making clear what will not be tolerated this St. Patrick's Day weekend.
"Your safety is our top concern. We want you to plan to have fun, but we also want you to plan responsibly," said Maj. William Marcus, Baltimore City Police Dept.
The stakes are high for bar owner David Niehenke, who's prepping for nearly a year.
"For us it's a great boom. You know, it's something we can always count on after the slow time, which is you know post-holiday later winter," said Niehenke.
The celebration crackdown comes nearly 3 years after a tourist was viciously attacked here, outside of court house east.
The videotaped brutal attack shows a rowdy group beat the victim to the ground and steal his belongings.
Baltimore Police are handing out flyers reminding people to plan ahead and be safe.
"It means a lot of partying and hanging out with good friends and family and good food," said Jamie Schmidt.
Jamie Schmidt is hoping for organized chaos this year.
"I think people can get caught up in the negative aspects of this weekend when it should be about the positive things. The city is going to get a lot more traffic a lot more business coming into the local restaurants and bars and that's what we should keep it about."
Authorities stress that public intoxication will not be allowed and they're setting sobriety checkpoints to enforce that.
Open containers of alcohol are not allowed in open public spaces.