What's blue and white and crashes your party at 3 a.m.?
It's the Gainesville Police Department's Party Patrol, but there's good news: The police would rather give warnings than citations.
In 2007, the Party Patrol issued more than 1,000 noise warnings but fewer than 50 noise citations. Complete information for 2008 has not been released, but GPD Lt. David Rowe said that the numbers usually stay static from year to year.
Since 2000, the unit has cruised Gainesville on Fridays and Saturdays to make sure that get-togethers stay within legal limits.
The unit has five officers on duty each weekend from about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Lowe said the patrol enforces underage drinking rules, open container laws and the state open-house party law, which holds hosts responsible for making sure minors don't consume alcohol.
According to GPD spokesman Keith Kameg, the patrol's goal is to encourage responsible behavior in local residents, especially students.
The Party Patrol mostly focuses on enforcing noise ordinances.
"Noise is the number one focus," he said. "Drinking is secondary but not ignored."
UF finance senior Andres Valbuena said the Party Patrol gave him written warnings at his Country Village apartment.
Valbuena said that he and his friends were playing a drinking game when a GPD officer responded to a neighbor's complaint.
"He gave us a warning," Valbuena said. "But he said if he had to come back again, it was going to get serious."
