It’s one of your first big college parties. You’re not 21. You’re sitting in the corner with some friends, drunk enough to get past your paralyzing shyness and talk to the girl you are convinced is Scarlett Johansson’s sister. Then it happens. The officer walks in the front door. He hasn’t said anything yet, but is just looking at you as if he’s been sent from the future to find you. You panic. You think you’re going to jail. You think back to Shawshank Redemption. You don’t want to crawl through miles of nastiness, but you will if you have to. Then you devise a way to avoid all of that. You turn, drop the contraband and run.

KU students, new and old, will undoubtedly come in contact with police officers, and this story will explain to you how to interact with Lawrence Police.

Zach Colwell, Lawrence junior, was a tenant a couple years ago in a house that often hosted parties. Half of the parties thrown at his house ended with the police coming in response to noise complaints, but none of them ended with anyone getting a ticket.

“I don’t know of a single person ever getting a ticket at one of my parties,” Colwell says. And that includes the three people who lived there. He said the officers just came in and told everyone to leave.

When officers came to his parties, Colwell did a few things. First, he stayed calm. More importantly, he was respectful while still attempting to crack some jokes. Second, he reassured the officer that the party was over, and made the officer feel that what he wanted to happen was going to happen. Colwell says he was always given warnings, but that some of them were more stiff. The officers sometimes have told him that they don’t want to come back that night, but they have also told him that they don’t want to come back ever.

Sgt. Paul Fellers of the Lawrence Police Department also believes that it’s most important for students to be respectful to as well as honest with police officers. He also thinks it is important for students to educate themselves on local ordinances that could effect them. Some ordinances that he suggests students read are 4-203; Consumption of cereal malt beverage in public and 4-103; Possession, purchase or consumption of alcohol beverage by underage persons. These can be found on the City of Lawrence’s web site, www.lawrenceks.org, under the “City Code” section.

But house parties aren’t the only place where students and police interact; they meet up in bars as well.

The Lawrence Police also do something called “bar checks.” Bar checks are conducted to find underage drinkers in bars, and they can be done at any bar within Lawrence city limits. The process uses any number uniformed and plain clothes officers. The procedure information of a bar check is located in the policies and procedure document on the Lawrence Police Department Web site. Officers look at people’s actions, if they become strange, and their appearance, if they look like they might not be 21. If the officer finds a violation he or she can remove that person from the bar along with any evidence of the violation.

Some of my interactions with Lawrence Police would be helpful to share so that others can learn from my successes and mistakes. First, I’ve never run from a house party upon a police officer’s arrival. He or she is not there to hand out MIPs to the dozens of students who are there drinking underage. I’ve personally had a pitcher of beer swiftly taken from my 19-year-old hands by a police officer, but he just told everyone to go home. Second, filling a water bottle with alcohol doesn’t work. Once, while walking down to a party, we were stopped by an officer. One of my friends was carrying a Gatorade bottle filled to the brim, but only half full of Gatorade. This will not fool an officer, and my friend walked away with an MIP. Third, don’t steal street signs. No matter how bad you want the Anthony Michael Drive street sign, located northwest of Bob Billings Drive and Inverness Street, it isn’t worth the trouble. Even at 2 in the morning there could be a man in his car near the sign who will remain unseen until you leave after an unsuccessful attempt.

At this point he will follow you wherever you go, call the police, have you tracked down and logged for attempted theft. Finally, and most importantly, as both Colwell and Fellers mentioned, show undue respect to all police officers. If you do not, you could find yourself walking to the courthouse to ask a clerk the specifics about your $104 jaywalking ticket; an experience I wish on nobody.