Police prep for possible Wednesday win

While UNC students prepare for the mile-and-a-half run to Franklin Street after Wednesday night’s Duke basketball game, the Chapel Hill Police Department is also gearing up for the night’s festivities.

During the rush on Franklin Street — which could draw thousands if UNC wins — police officers block off streets and monitor the crowd for bonfires, alcohol and vandalism to ensure overall public safety.

The department determines how many additional officers to keep on Franklin based on the size of crowds in past years, said Phil Smith, officer and special events coordinator.

Normally the crowd size of students storming Franklin is between 3,000 and 5,000 for the UNC vs. Duke games, he said.

Crowds can be even larger when UNC wins a championship — reaching more than 30,000 after the 2009 national championship basketball game.

“For these games, approximately thirty officers come back to work and they adjust their hours accordingly,” Smith said.

Officers are usually paid one and a half times their normal hourly wage for special events.

Isabel Kenny, a freshman biology major, said she thinks the department often has too many police officers at special events.

“It’s a waste to employ all these officers if they’re not doing anything productive,” she said. “Also, I think they would be more efficient and they wouldn’t need as many if they were dispersed more along the street.”

The town’s Halloween celebration is also known for drawing a crowd — and police officers.

Halloween crowds on Franklin Street peaked at 80,000 in 2004 and 2007.

Smith attributes the fluctuation in costs to how long officers are at the event and the amount of clean-up needed.

Despite the costs associated with games and Halloween, Kenny said she thinks some extra officers are necessary.

“People can get kind of crazy, and it’s a good idea for the police to control the celebrations in case anyone gets too rowdy.”

Local businesses also increase their staff to handle the crowds after games and events.

Oscar Morales, manager of Pepper’s Pizza, said the restaurant is already planning ahead for Wednesday’s Duke game.

He said they will have three more people working than usual and will stay open for an extra hour or two, expecting to be busiest between 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

“We need more workers to make more bread, chop tomatoes and work in the kitchen with all the extra customers,” he said.

Morales said his business has declined in recent years, but game days are the exception.

“Business is not good like before, not like it was 3 years ago,” Morales said.

“Business is much better during UNC’s basketball and football seasons.”

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