Halloween is often thought to be a night of mischief and criminal behavior, but not so much for DeKalb.

Both the DeKalb Police Department and the University Police report that crime trends during Halloween in the past few years have not been very high nor out of the ordinary for any night.

“It’s actually been very good, I think,” said Lt. Wesley Hoadley of the DeKalb police. “There hasn’t been a lot of crime besides the normal stuff that you would have on a Friday night.”

Both police are not making any special preparations outside of their normal patrolling operations as they do not expect many crimes to occur.

“We patrol streets, parking lots, the exteriors of buildings, residence halls and academic buildings,” said Lt. Todd Henert of the University Police. “These are all normal operations for us but we’re just a little more cognizant of the kinds of activities that you would expect from students on Halloween.”

Some students are concerned with the crime that Halloween night could inspire. Valerie Berg, a sophomore speech-language pathology major, remembers her mother telling her stories of people pulling out weapons when she went to NIU, but believes crime has subsided since then.

“I do think there is an issue with crime, I know it’s been getting better but it still is a concern to where I wouldn’t want to ever just walk out alone, especially on Halloween,” Berg said.

Most students are not worried about Halloween crime and believe this Friday will be like any other.

“I can see it being an issue because kids are going to be drunk and just going around being rowdy and stuff like that, but I don’t think it will be any different from any other Halloween,” said Jake Erven, a post-graduate math education student.

“I think it’s going to be like any other Friday night, no different from any other,” said Jessica Strehlow, a junior speech pathology major.

Henert advised everyone to remain safe on Halloween.

“As any other weekend, we recommend folks travel together when they’re walking to and from the event of the weekend. They should pay attention to their drink and where it’s at and shouldn’t take a drink poured by somebody else or made by somebody else,” Henert said in a statement. “They should be aware of their own personal health and their limits and look out for their friends that they’re out with. And of course understand that they’re responsible for their actions and they should pay attention to the university’s rules and act within the law.”