Mike and I got into a discussion today in the comments section of another post about longer bar hours. I’m in favor. I’ve seen it work. I came from a city that had a 4 AM zone downtown. It was by accident that I came across this article in the State News were the East Lansing Police Chief voices his opposition.
But for East Lansing police, longer bar hours would mean more patrols and more money spent to pay officers, East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said.
“On weekends, we would increase our overtime pay,” Wibert said. “We generally put out extra foot patrols on bar nights.”
Wibert said making liquor available Sunday mornings probably wouldn’t affect police, but the extended bar hours could pose a problem of increased late night crime.
“Not many good things happen between 2 and 4 a.m.,” he said.
Two things. 1.) You’re a police department. You’re job is to serve and protect. Plan accordingly. 2.) Extended bar hours do not increase late night crime. You have no proof of that and there are several cities that have 4 AM license and it works. Instead of prediciting what you think would happen, I would suggest getting in touch with Peoria (IL) Police Chief Steve Settinsgaard who actually encourage the expansion of Peoria’s 4 AM zone a few years back.
East Lansing has a number of bars in a small area and they’re near the police headquarters. Extending the liquor license by two hours shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
The police chief’s comments prove this proposal will face stiff opposition, even if it passes the legislature (and I doubt that). I’d expect many East Lansing residents, in addition to the police chief, would lobby to ensure bars close at 2 a.m. Cities maintain veto power.
And doubling the license fee (on top of the general fee hike Granholm is proposing, I expect) for 2 extra hours isn’t worth it to most bars. Even in Chicago and New York, where bars can stay open until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. if they have a permit, most don’t use it except for Friday and Saturday nights (maybe Thursdays too in college towns).
I lived in Peoria for six years and I might have closed the bars down once or twice. The 4 AM bars were open every night until 4 and there were never any problems. I used to work nights when I worked in news and I would sit at home with a police scanner..most nights, I was up past 4 and maybe once a year there was some kind of problem after the bars closed..it was usually when there was a band in town and an after party. It wasn’t just a regular night…
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god forbid an idea that would actually generate some revinue in a down economy. I mean people buying liquor (which is taxed) and breaking the law (which generates fines) by parking illegally or spending a little more than they intended. I mean if small business owners made more late night revenue they might be able to create a few more jobs to support the kids that go to school in your area. but its probably more fun the be able to boss your kids around and be forced to have them on the pay roll.
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