Officers will respond to the party location based on a complaint received. It doesn’t matter what time it is; if the noise disturbance is loud enough to bother someone they can request police response. Officers will first contact the person responsible for the residence. We will advise the responsible person(s) of the complaint and issue a “Loud Party Warning Notice.” The majority of loud party complaints are rectified by stopping live music, turning stereos off or down, closing doors and/or windows, and/or asking loud party goers to leave.
If the police department receives a complaint at any time after a warning notice was issued, officers will return and contact the person to whom the loud party warning notice was issued. The officers will explain that a second call was received and direct that the party close down.
The number of officers who respond to stand by while the party is dispersed depends on the size of the party. The officers will stand by until all partygoers have left the area and the neighborhood is quiet. The person responsible for the party will be issued a “loud party disturbance citation” documenting the second complaint, the number of officers that responded, the time they arrived, and the time it took for quiet to be restored to the neighborhood. A copy of the citation will be provided to the responsible person at the scene. At a later date, the City of Arcata will mail a “service fee” based on the number of officers that responded and the number of minutes it took to restore the peace.