Although football weekend robberies have tapered off since then, Murphy said specific officers now are sent out solely searching for robbery suspects on game days and were prepared for a rise in crime with Halloween and a football game occurring the same weekend.

“It’s a targeted patrol,” Murphy said. “We look for suspects we think could be involved, we stop them and talk to them to see if they’re involved at all. Otherwise on a busy weekend they get busy with (minors in possession), parties and traffic stops and get tied up on something else.”

Official crime statistics for incidents that occurred between Oct. 31 and Saturday will not be available until later this week.

Murphy said many of the previously recorded robberies have similarities.

Typically, he said, the suspects prey on individuals who are walking alone and are noticeably intoxicated, beating them severely and taking electronics and money. Many of the suspects police apprehended came from outside the Lansing area.

“(Suspects) start following them around a party into an area where there’s not a lot of witnesses,” he said. “The monetary loss is not a big deal, the problem is some of these people are getting beat up pretty badly. The disturbing thing about it is many of the suspects we’ve caught had no other reason to be here other than to rob people.”

MSU police have investigated similar assault and robbery incidents surrounding game weekends, but the incidents are not limited to home games. MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said police released alerts regarding unarmed robberies Sept. 22, the day after the Notre Dame game, as well as Oct. 27, the day following a football game in Illinois.

MSU police also are investigating a strong-arm robbery that occurred on Oct. 31.

According to a statement released by MSU police, an 18-year-old female student was riding on her skateboard near the Business College Complex when a man pushed her off her skateboard, took it and ran toward Shaw Hall.

Although he planned on an influx of people in East Lansing for the football game and Halloween festivities, finance freshman Joseph Buko said he didn’t notice any signs of trouble.

“Since it was also Halloween, I did expect it to be crazier,” Buko said. “There was definitely a lot more action and stuff going on, but I didn’t notice any more problems than usual.”