With trick-or-treaters on the streets and parties all over town, Halloween could mean extra work for police.
Gainesville Police Department spokesman Lt. Keith Kameg said he expects GPD to stay pretty busy in the days surrounding Halloween.
"It's not uncommon that we'll respond to 50 or 60 calls a night around Halloween weekends," he said.
Sgt. Keith Faulk, spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, said he expects to get a lot of calls on Wednesday night, as well.
"In comparison with a home football game, it would probably be higher than that even though it's celebrated in the middle of the week," he said.
University Police Department spokesman Capt. Jeff Holcomb said Halloween is a quiet night on campus.
The dorms aren't a big destination for partygoers, he said.
Also, UPD doesn't deal with the safety issues of trick-or-treating because the dorms are only open to residents, he said.
Kameg said he considers Halloween to be a major holiday in Gainesville, but it's calmed down since the mid-'80s, when people would attend a Halloween ball he described as "Sodom and Gomorrah."
"Halloween is pretty laid back," he said. "It's just really busy because people go out and have a good time."
He said he doesn't see too many problems with pranks or mischief.
Faulk said he's seen few problems, too.
"We do get calls of eggings and toilet paper and shaving cream," he said, "but not any major issues."
Police seldom see permanent damage from vandalism, he said.
Kameg said that while police aren't looking to arrest anyone for it, another issue might be indecent exposure.
"Some of the costumes are clothing-light," he said.
Faulk said drivers should be careful to keep their eyes on the road and not be distracted by people wearing costumes in other cars.
