The Brookline Police Department is bearing down on Boston University students who live in the area, claiming students have been more offensive this year than ever before, and while students are predictably crying foul, other residents agree police have been far too stringent in recent weeks.
Brookline Police Captain John O'Leary said his department began posting informational warning letters in apartment complexes on Egmont, Pleasant, Thatcher and Brown streets last weekend to warn students that police will be "patrolling, pursuing and punishing those who violate the quality of life for other residents."
O'Leary said 18 arrests have been made in the area since Sept. 1 for 23 charges, including disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and public intoxication -- most of which were pressed against BU students.
"Residents have mentioned it to us many times," O'Leary said. "Not just large parties, but a campus-like atmosphere with kids roaming around. . . some with alcohol out in the open, yelling and just being disruptive."
O'Leary said the crackdown is the result of failed attempts to quell disruptions quietly.
"We tried the educational route," he said. "Letting students know there are problems - BU has as well, but the enforcement aspect has to be done strongly, and that's what we're trying to bring out."
Robert Jackson, a Brookline resident who lives on Egmont Street, said the arrests have been unwarranted and said police claims that residents are up in arms over student disruptions are overblown.
"The Brookline cops are out hunting BU students," Jackson said in an email. "If you are a student and happen to be walking, standing or sitting in this area, they will arrest you or put you in protective custody for the night."
Jackson said two weekends ago he noticed an officer out of uniform directing other officers to arrest students.
"He takes great pleasure in violating students' civil rights," Jackson said. "He does not want any students on his streets after dark."
O'Leary denied the claim and said any officer without a uniform is a superior officer with jurisdiction to work without one.
College of Communication sophomore David Sabia, an Egmont Street resident, said the Brookline police presence in the area has increased dramatically over the past couple of weeks.
"I seriously have felt like I'm constantly looking over my shoulder," Sabia said. "The police are always around, and I feel like we are under surveillance for some serious crime."
Sabia said the police onslaught in Brookline is a result of "reputation superseding the facts," adding police often cite students for being excessively loud when Sabia said noise does not exist.
"I was outside my building on a Thursday night and my friend was smoking a cigarette," he said. "It seemed pretty quiet, but a police truck came by and [an officer] told us to take it inside. He said that there had been numerous complaints even though we heard nothing around. When we politely asked why my friend couldn't just finish his cigarette outside my building, he got slightly aggressive.
"We were simply standing outside talking," he continued. "We saw no reason to be told we couldn't stand outside the apartment I am paying for when we did nothing wrong."
Sabia said aside from flyers O'Leary placed in apartment complexes, he saw no evidence of residents complaining about students.
"I have received no complaints from the building's landlord or from BU," he said. "I feel like these other sources would notify us if the problem was as big as the Brookline PD says it is."
School of Management sophomore Kate Wyman said although she appreciates police ensuring safety for students and residents in Brookline, she said police can be imposing.
"Their job as police isn't to go looking for trouble, but to protect residents from unsafe behavior," she said. "Those residents include students also - we pay the same rent that everyone else does. They should probably keep in mind that we live here, too."
O'Leary and BU spokesman Colin Riley agreed that Brookline police and BU have a generally cooperative relationship in dealing with students off campus.
"A greater presence, patrolling more often -- I think that's great," Riley said.
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