Are the police out to get me around every corner? If I get an MIP, do I go to jail? If the police come to my house, do I have to let them in? For many students, the answers to questions like these are as clear as a bottle of Budweiser. So to help clear the fog, here are seven of the most common police-related myths, busted by the people you don’t want to get busted by this year.
Myth: The police are targeting every drunk person they see.
While it is the job of the East Lansing Police Department to bring intoxicated students and guests to jail, East Lansing police Officer Michelle Schlaack said it’s not the goal of officers to take down the city’s entire population.
“We don’t target anyone,” she said. “People seem to bring attention to themselves. They do things that get our attention, and we have to deal with them.”
Myth: The police are required to give a warning to residents hosting parties before issuing a ticket.
As is often the case, police have discretion when offering verbal warnings or ticketing party hosts.
“We can issue a warning or a ticket, but we don’t have any sort of policy where we have to give a warning before we give a ticket,” Schlaack said.
Myth: When a police officer stops me and I’m under 21 and in possession of alcohol, it’s guaranteed that I’m going to receive a ticket.
Officers have discretion when it comes to punishing minors in possession. Students charged with an MIP can receive a punishment ranging from a warning to spending a night in jail.
Minors who have consumed very little alcohol and are cooperative are more likely to be let off with a warning or another lesser citation.
Myth: If I get caught with a fake ID, I just get removed from the establishment at which I was caught.
If a minor is caught with false identification, the police are authorized to make an arrest for presenting false ID to a liquor establishment and to a police officer. This charge is essentially equivalent to a disorderly conduct arrest.
Myth: If the police knock on my front door, I don’t have to answer it.
While students are not required to answer a door when the authorities respond to noise complaints, officers advise against ignoring the police.
If residents answer their door when police investigate noise complaints, officers have the discretion to issue warnings or tickets.
But if the police are required to return to the location of a complaint, misdemeanor noise warrants can be issued to every apartment or housing resident – regardless of whether every occupant was present at the time of investigation.
“If we get a call to a house saying there’s a noise complaint, and nobody is there answering the door, we’ll follow up on it in the daytime,” Johnson said.
Myth: If I’m under 21, it’s legal for me to carry an unopened alcoholic beverage.
The laws regarding minors in possession of alcohol do not waver based on whether an alcoholic container is open or not.
Myth: It is illegal to play beer pong outdoors.
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Playing beer pong is not illegal, but it — in conjunction with other criteria — could figure into levying harsher fines if it contributes to noise complaints.
