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At the risk of beating a dead horse further to death, let’s talk some more about the recent busts at South Bend bars and the girls’ lacrosse house. Don’t stop reading just yet — this isn’t going to repeat worn-out rants against the police. There will be no pleas for the South Bend Police Department (SBPD) to re-prioritize its efforts. Rather, let’s focus on a central misunderstanding students seem to have about these off-campus raids.

How many times have you heard this lament from students? “Look at all the crime happening in South Bend! What a waste of time. Why bother us when people are getting shot?” While we here at Scholastic are hardly apologists for the police force, after talking with Public Information Officer Phil Trent of the SBPD, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s important to realize that these raids are not being conducted by the SBPD. With a few exceptions, these raids are solely the work of the Indiana Excise Police, a division of the Indiana State Police. The Excise Police’s reason for existence is to control illegal alcohol consumption. Say what you will about the usefulness of having a force dedicated to breaking up this time-honored pastime, but it’s unfair to blame the SBPD for diverting resources away from its policing efforts to break up underage parties.

The South Bend police force’s only interaction with the Excise Police’s raids is to come in as a standby if the Excise Police conduct an especially large raid (like the one at the girls’ lacrosse house). The Excise Police conduct all the arrests and do all the paperwork. The South Bend police never stop their policing efforts to solely patrol for underage drinkers. While they may stop and break up a party if they see one occurring, they never specifically target underage student parties; that is the role of the Excise Police alone.

It hardly gives any of us great pleasure to go around defending the police. In this case, however, it’s important to get the facts of the case before accusing. Focus as much criticism as you want on the relative value (or lack thereof) of the Excise Police, but this is just not the SBPD’s fault. It pains us to admit it just as much as it pains you to stop complaining, but we as a university need to recognize where the authority lies in these situations.