As the Illinois men’s basketball team progresses further in their quest to win the national championship, Champaign and University police will step up their inspection of campus bars in order to cut down on post game problems.

Officials said that local police departments do not anticipate an increase in public disturbances during March Madness, but said they are fully prepared to deal with situations that may arise.

“This University has a long-standing tradition of celebrating with a great degree of class and dignity,” said Lt. Skip Frost of the University Police Department. “We have every faith that the student body, staff, faculty and surrounding communities will celebrate in a safe and responsible manner.”

There are precautions that students can take to ensure safety and avoid fines.

First, Frost said not to overindulge in alcohol. He said the police want people to celebrate and support the team, but overuse of alcohol leads to unfortunate incidents like crimes against property and people.

Frost also said if people see fans engaging in vandalism or other illegal activities, they should contact the authorities and leave the area.

“We find that a lot of people in a celebratory violent situation may or may not be contributing to it other than just being there,” Frost said.

The Champaign Police Department has made a concerted effort to put both bar owners and patrons on notice that they will enforce liquor laws.

Sgt. Scott Friedlein of Champaign Police has been through a series of trainings specific to celebratory riots and educates bar employees on how to prevent such events from happening. Bar staff members were instructed on how to prevent violence within the bar, to control the alcohol flow and to listen carefully to customers.

“We don’t necessarily want the bars to be spies for the police, but if employees can pick up on information, we can prevent a crowd from gathering or prevent the escalation of violence associated with a celebratory event,” Friedlein said.

As the Final Four approaches, additional measures will be taken in response to liquor enforcement especially for underage violators. Police will continue their process of modifying behaviors through active enforcement.

“We’re doing enforcement with warning. We’re letting people know that we’re out, we’re going to be out and we’re going to be out more aggressively,” Friedlein said.

Stacy Weber, sophomore in education, said police should be cognizant of circumstances and react accordingly.

“I would rather that police take the necessary precautions now because we will be sorry later if something bad actually occurs,” Weber said.

But Danielle Willer, freshman in ACES, said she thinks police should keep their policies constant.

“It’s not fair that police regulation is being increased now, because some students are feeling tricked,” Willer said.

Friedlein said he doesn’t think a celebratory riot like those that happened on the Ohio State campus after the Buckeyes won the 2003 national football championship will necessarily happen here.

“Ohio State has a history; we don’t,” he said. “Ohio State sets their riots by their watches.”

Friedlein said the University has intelligent students and that most of the Champaign Police Department’s concern is for people not affiliated with the University.

“During Unofficial, out of the 81 arrests, only 33 were U of I students and six were Parkland students,” Friedlein said. “The 55 percent of arrests that were not local students were from 21 different colleges.”

The results from Unofficial will be used as a guideline if Illinois does make it to the Final Four.

“Visitors come here for the party and have a certain level of amenity. We will monitor that behavior and we anticipate large amounts of people coming into town,” Friedlein said.

Many students will adapt their behavior, should Illinois go all the way.

“I refuse to go to the bars, but I will party indefinitely,” Willer said.