ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County Sheriff's deputies and UCF campus police have created a police partnership to crack down on off-campus crime and underage drinking.
They call it "SNAP" Sector 2 Noise Alcohol Patrols.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings and UCF police chief Richard Beary said in a joint news conference Thursday, that the early impact has been encouraging.
Since mid-April, according to Demings, there have been 17 arrests for underage drinking 181 surprise checks at local bars, and 21 responses to loud parties off-campus.
The recent wave of violent crimes off campus has prompted UCF students to call for more police presence.
The sheriff told reporters overall crime in sector 2, the area surrounding the UCF campus, is down by 16 percent.
While Demings didn't concede jurisdiction of the off campus housing to UCF Police , he has brought in additional patrols working in tandem with campus officers.
"They have their hands full dealing with the issues here on campus this is the second largest university in the country," Demings said.
UCF documents show Lawrence Peterson " a convicted felon and known gang member" was arrested by UCFPD for carrying a gun at an off-campus party on April 18.
During the second detail, UCFPD arrested a female student for DUI who had breath samples of .232 and .235.
In each case, Orange County sheriffs were there in essence "bending" the jurisdiction issue.
UCF Police say the partnership was prompted by a Local 6 investigation that uncovered a pattern of DUI arrests involving drivers under the legal drinking age.
Beary told reporters he has shared data with the Orange County analysts pinpointing when and where the underage drinking is most likely to play out.
The partnership will continue off campus patrols during the UCF summer sessions