2008 Woodie Awards
Safety should be a holiday priority, officer says
Students can avoid a Natalee Holloway situation during spring break March 13-19
By Joseph M. de Leon
Last update: 5/17/06 at 8:20 AM CST
- Page 1 of 1
Police officials prepare for spring break by focusing on law enforcement and safety to make sure good times do not turn sour.
Last year, the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 18, made headlines after she did not return from a trip to the Caribbean.
Holloway was a graduating honors student from Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham, Ala., who disappeared on May 30 while on a senior class trip to the island of Aruba.
Holloway was last seen leaving a bar with Surinamese brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, and a Dutch national, Joran van der Sloot, 18. She was hours from returning home.
Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were arrested June 9, on charges of suspicion of involvement in Holloway's disappearance. They were later released, and there have not been any arrests in connection with Holloway's disappearance.
Elizabeth Ann Twitty and Dave Edward Holloway, the missing teen's parents, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Van der Sloot and his father Feb. 16.
Interim Deputy Chief Ben Peña of the Alamo Community College District department of public safety said students should use common sense and make personal safety a priority.
Peña said there is safety in numbers.
"You need to worry about your own safety and your friends' safety before anything else," Peña said. "Stay with people you know and trust."
Holloway left the company of several classmates with three men she had just met.
Peña said the consumption of alcohol can impair judgment.
Holloway had been drinking the night she disappeared. She ignored her classmates' warnings not to leave with the three men.
Peña said vacationers should be aware of their surroundings. "Avoid dark, isolated places," he said. "They can be dangerous."
Peña suggests victims of crime can help themselves if confronted with a dangerous situation. "Yell out for help," he said. "Try to get to a location where other people can see what is going on."
Victims of a robbery should submit to their attackers. "By all means, you should think about giving them what they want," Peña said. "Property can always be replaced. Your life cannot."
Peña said there is a fine line between self-defense and being involved in an altercation. "You have a right to defend yourself, but you also need to get away from that situation," he advised.
Public information coordinator Jason Moody of the South Padre Island Police Department said the island expects more then 85,000 visitors for spring break this year.
Moody said the police department is working in unison with state and local authorities to ensure the safety of vacationers and enforce laws.
The police department has contracted more than 80 police officers from surrounding communities to keep watch over the island.
A new mobile communication tool, which is similar to a walkie talkie, has been issued to police officers to direct the police force. The new communication tool allows officers to communicate without interruption, Moody explained.
"It's a new type of hardware that will help us respond more effectively," Moody said.
He said the police department ensures the safety of vacationers by enforcing the law.
"The most common violation is underage drinking," Moody said.
Moody said officers from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission will patrol hotels, restaurants and bars to make sure no alcohol is served to underaged drinkers.
Driving while intoxicated is another common violation during spring break.
"Drinking and driving is always a bad idea," Moody said. Vacationers should obey the speed limit at all times, he said.
Moody said theft is common during spring break, and unattended items make attractive targets.
"Sometimes drivers are unaware of their personal property," Moody said. "Lock the doors to cars left unattended and make sure not to leave valuables in plain sight."
"There is no reason why students can't have fun and be safe," Moody said.
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