Both the Hollister Police Department and the California
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control released statistics
yesterday for incidents taking place over the Fourth of July
weekend in the city of Hollister.
Hollister – Both the Hollister Police Department and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control released statistics yesterday for incidents taking place over the Fourth of July weekend in the city of Hollister.
According to Police Chief Jeff Miller, specific incidents such as traffic collisions were reduced by as much as 60% this year. Miller credited increased patrols, the gang intervention unit, and the addition of the CHP to active patrols within city limits.
“It was a real concentrated effort,” said Miller. “Everyone worked hard in their areas, so that problems were prevented before they started.”
A total of four traffic collisions took place this year, down from 13 last year, with no major injuries or fatalities.
Three vehicles were stolen, at least one of which was a motorcycle. Seven vehicles were stolen last year.
While the CHP reported 40 DUIs, the HPD only had to deal with five.
Some 250 citations were issued, 35 of which were handed down from the ABC, according to John Carr, the department’s public information officer.
“The citations were for such things as public drunkeness, possession of concealed weapons, consumption of alcohol outside the (Independence Rally) area, fighting and disorderly conduct, and sales of alcohol to minors,” said Carr.
Minors were found consuming alcohol at Whiskey Creek, the San Benito Hotel and Good Times Bowl. These were not decoy operations, but rather incidents that were discovered during routine bar checks.
“The ABC has a huge focus on underage drinking,” said Carr. “We lose roughly 100 kids a year to alcohol related crashes. It’s just too great a loss.”
If a hearing substantiates that the establishments in question are guilty of an infraction, punishment could range from a letter of warning to permanent revocation of their liquor license, according to Carr.
San Benito County falls under the jurisdiction of the Salinas branch of the ABC, but officials from both the Salinas and San Jose branch were present to assist the HPD for the duration of the rally.
The HPD made 61 arrests out of the more than 1,450 incidents reported over the course of the three-day weekend, according to Miller. In comparison, 1,163 incidents were reported during the month of May.
“Since the rally started, we’d seen an increase in crime,” said Miller. “But luckily, we’ve had a drop over the past two years. Our numbers are way down.”
The numbers accounted for all incidents within the city limits, including the designated rally area.
“It’s my general sense that downtown, most of the trouble was caused by visitors,” said Miller. “But in the rest of town, it was pretty much the residents.”
