Boise Police say crowds inside and outside Bronco Stadium were well-behaved during the big Bronco - Vandal football game Saturday. Boise Police, partnering with other area law enforcement did have extra officers on duty to watch for problems – specifically, drunk driving, illegal parking, and fighting.

"What we've learned from large crowds in the past is: officer presence is often a deterrent to problems. People see the officers and that helps keep behavior in check," said Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson, who worked in uniform on patrol during the game.

"When we do see problems, they're likely caused by just a few individuals. If we can address the potential trouble makers while problems remain small, the rest of the crowd who really is well behaved, can continue to enjoy themselves safely and without police intervention,” the Chief added.

Officers were also looking for individuals or businesses providing alcohol to minors.

"The dangers of underage kids drinking alcohol is well-known,” said Masterson. "Young people consuming alcohol leads to accidents, crimes, and sadly, serious injuries that can impact a young person for the rest of their life. Safety of our young people is a priority. We have no tolerance for people who jeopardize their safety."

Officers say the pro-active planning appears successful. Many violations were consistent with similar games. The two most noticeable issues over the weekend being drunk driving and illegal parking.

Boise Police activated the Treasure Valley DUI Task Force from 5:00 p.m. Saturday to 4:00 a.m. Sunday. Thanks to a mutual aid agreement, and funding assistance from the ITD Office of Highway Safety, 18 officers from Boise Police, Nampa Police, Caldwell Police and Idaho State Police teamed up to enforce drunk driving in Boise City. In all 15 DUI units were on patrol in the city overnight (18 officers, 15 units means some officers were two to a car), which is about double the typical number of DUI patrols.

According to Boise Police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower, “36 DUI arrests were made in Boise City from 5:00 p.m. Saturday to 4:00 a.m. Sunday. That number is about three times higher than a typical weekend night. Fifteen other arrests were made by the Task Force for offenses like driving without privileges, marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, minors in consumption of alcohol.”

“DUI officers focused their enforcement in the busy downtown entertainment district, and also major arterials and neighborhoods throughout the city where DUI's are known to be an issue,” she added.

Officers also issued 217 parking citations Saturday in the neighborhoods surrounding BSU. Citations were written for parking too close and blocking visibility of stop signs, intersections and fire hydrants, as well as parking on sidewalks and parking in violations of signs or yellow or red curbs.

On average, Boise Police say they write about 130 parking violations during a BSU football game in the neighborhoods around campus.