Police handing out nuisance stickers to college students

By Alana Cerrone

acerrone@abc6.com

@Alana_Cerrone

Only two days into the school year for Providence College, and already the warnings are going up.

Four houses on Pembroke Avenue got tagged with giant orange stickers Tuesday after a huge party over the weekend.

Providence Police Major Thomas Verdi says the stickers are warnings. "You can not have several hundred students congregate at these locations at midnight, 1:00 in the morning."

Police and college officials wasted no time this school year, telling students to play by the rules of the neighborhood. That means no late night parties, fighting, or loud music.

"Noise violation…overcrowded…that’s what constitutes the sticker. It’s a blatant violation of the nuisance house ordinance."

PC senior Dane Flaherty says the neighborhood parties aren’t too crazy.

"Not really loud I would say we keep it pretty modest just in the backyard doing our thing."

Police think otherwise. Four of Flaherty’s neighbors got smacked with nuisance stickers. That means over the next 6 months, if they get a violation, the residents or owners pay a $500 fine to the city.

The school decides the sanction. "We do our own investigation about who’s responsible…and what happened here…it depends how significant the events that took place are."

Police and college officials hope it’s enough to keep the peace in the neighborhood, and keep students safe. But will it work?

"It makes sense but I mean… this is where Providence kids live."

Police are also implementing this strategy with other schools in the city, including Johnson & Wales.

PC officials say the sanction on the students in violation of any ordinance would depend on the severity of the act and also the student’s history, but could be as harsh as expulsion or suspension.

© WLNE-TV 2016