Hollister
– The big check has been passed and hotels are slowly filling
up, but many are wondering what security measures will be taken for
the Hollister Motorcycle Rally in July.
Hollister – The big check has been passed and hotels are slowly filling up, but many are wondering what security measures will be taken for the Hollister Motorcycle Rally in July.
Police Chief Jeff Miller remains relatively mum on his $362,000 plan for public safety, the cost of which was paid upfront by rally organizers. Miller won’t say what outside agencies have agreed to assist local law enforcement or how many officers will be deployed for the rally weekend, July 6 through July 8.
The chief said the department has a basic plan in place, but doesn’t want criminals knowing how many officers will be on duty for safety reasons.
However, with the new pedestrian-friendly layout of the rally, fewer officers will be standing along San Benito Street than in previous years, Miller said.
“You won’t see those same posts for the officers,” he said. “It’s going to be more mobile.”
Miller said he is a fan of the layout, which includes many safety advantages, including easier access throughout downtown during the rally for police and fire.
In the past, motorcycles lined San Benito Street. This year, the bikes will be parked on side streets and San Benito Street will be given over to vendors.
Rally organizer Seth Doulton, of Horse Power Promotions, hopes the layout will make people feel less crowded.
“Even if we get more people at the event this year it’s going to seem like there’s less people,” he said.
Doulton said the operating hours for the three-day rally, down nine hours total from previous years, could help reduce police manpower needs.
Robbie Scattini, Hollister’s former mayor and a member of the Hollister Motorcycle Rally committee, called the policing at last year’s unofficial rally “inappropriate.”
Although the 2006 rally was cancelled, thousands of motorcyclists still roared into town last July.
Scattini said many people felt police had too strong a presence at last year’s event.
Although he is disappointed that the bikes will not be front and center on San Benito Street this year, Scattini believes the new layout will help law enforcement.
“I think it’s going to be better for the police,” Scattini said.
Miller is still coordinating efforts with other agencies. In past years, assisting agencies have included the Modesto, Ceres, Kingsburg, Watsonville and Monterey police departments; and the California Department of Justice, Department of Alcohol Beverage Control and state parole officers, he said.
The number of officers on patrol during the rally will continue to shift not only as the bikers begin to roll in, but also during the rally itself. If the rally is relatively quiet, officers will be sent home early, Miller said.
In 2005, when the rally drew more than 120,000 people, more than 100 officers were on patrol and 65 people were arrested, Miller said. Last year, during the unofficial rally, no more than 90 officers were on patrol at any given time and 39 people were arrested.
Of the 104 arrested on the rally weekend in the last two years, only 15 were arrested in downtown Hollister, Miller said.
“The vast number of arrests aren’t downtown at the rally,” he said. “They’re out in the city.”
Public safety officials won’t know the final cost or number of officers deployed until the rally ends the first Sunday of July.
“Nothing is a for sure thing until Monday morning,” Miller said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
