‘Not terribly extraordinary’

Following this year’s Halloween festivities, Chico Police Chief Mike Maloney had as good a take on the weekend as anyone. In a report to the City Council Tuesday (Nov. 3), he said the number of problems police had to deal with was more or less to be expected, given that the holiday fell in the middle of a long weekend whose “weather was incredibly nice.”

The total number of calls—1,279—was “not terribly extraordinary” for a three-day weekend, he said, adding that he was reluctant to conclude “that Halloween was slipping away from us.”

There were more violent crimes than usual, but most had nothing to do with Halloween, and none took place downtown or in the South Campus area. Let’s see what happens next year, Maloney said, when the holiday falls on Sunday before a school day.

We appreciate the chief’s even-handedness—and his department’s careful handling of the festivities. The rest of us should remember that the annual Halloween party downtown is part of the cost of being a college town. The benefits more than offset the expense.