Students need to 'step up' and make FOCO safer, police say

Last month's party that flooded Broughdale Avenue with 11,000 students was dangerous and expensive, according to police who called on students to "step up" and behave like good citizens of the city. 

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The warning came at a Police Services Board meeting today. 

Deputy Chief Daryl Longworth said the unsanctioned street party sent 10 people to hospital. 

He said police were "outnumbered" and unable to properly police the dead-end street that borders Western University in London's Old North neighbourhood. 

In a presentation to the board, Longworth said similar street parties can't be allowed to happen in the future. 

"This should be a wake-up call to students," he said. "This is risky behaviour. It could wind you up in hospital, with a ticket or with a charge that could carry with you the rest of your life. And I don't think that's why most people go to university."

Police arrested 11 people and issued more than 960 warnings, mainly for liquor offences. 

In the days leading up to the Sept. 30 party, police and university officials implored students to stay away from an event they described as unsanctioned and illegal. 

"Those calls fell on deaf ears," said Longworth. 

The party cost police $55,000 in overtime costs, which Longworth said "is not sustainable." 

Broughdale Avenue became so crowded, police and emergency vehicles couldn't travel down the dead-end street, making it impossible to effect any proper response in the event of an emergency.

Mayor Matt Brown praised police for how they handled a tricky policing situation that saw students urinate in backyards and climb on the roofs of houses. 

Brown said he's worried that similar street parties, if they're allowed to happen again, could result in a death. 

Longworth said police are working with students and the university to prevent a repeat of a dangerous situation. 

"A lot of the ownership for this and for the change that needs to be brought rests on the student and their ability to be respectful and responsible in how they interact with the community." 

Last year in an effort to curb partying, the university pushed back Homecoming celebrations from the last weekend of September to late October. The thinking was students would be less willing to party on the street in October when the weather was cooler and they were deeper into their academic year. 

In response, students staged the September street party anyway, calling it Fake Homecoming or "FOCO."

The official Homecoming happens this weekend, and Longworth says he's hoping students will behave this time. 

"The police approach is going to be a fair, consistent enforcement level to make the students are acting responsiblity with their safety and the community's safety at the forefront."