BUFFALO, N.Y. — The countdown is on to New Year's Eve, and while many of you may be finalizing plans, so are local and state police agencies. It's a popular night out that sometimes ends in violence.
"We have quite a bit of a surge of arrests around the holidays," says New York State Trooper James Ocallaghan.
"If you're out there and you're firing a gun, and we get a call on it, or we hear it, we're coming after you," says Buffalo's Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia.
So the Buffalo Police and State Police are getting ready for a busy New Year weekend.
"We will have enough patrols. We will be working with local law enforcement agencies, sheriff departments, towns, and villages to handle that influx," Ocallaghan says.
They're going to increase their police presence. It will begin Friday night. But while many people will be Downtown enjoying the 36th annual ball drop from the Electric Tower. Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia has a rule he wants you to keep in mind.
"If you see something, say something. Don't think that something is too small that you don't report it. That's what we're there for," Gramaglia says.
If you're the one who likes to pregame before an event, "Think before you drink. Know that if you're getting high, you cannot drive a vehicle. We will have DWI details starting tonight and throughout the weekend. We will be out enforcing both driving while intoxicated and driving while ability impaired," says Gramaglia.
Separate from Downtown's event, city message boards have been in place for some time now warning drivers about driving high. Driving hungover the next day after a night of drinking is just as bad as drunk driving.
"If you have been drinking too much to at a point you're hungover, you're going to want to wait because you are probably going to be still at or above that limit. So, the best advice is you probably going to want to wait the full day," says Gramaglia.
Law enforcement says the goal is to have fun but also be safe. Trooper James Ocallaghan says last year, State Police were busy.
"You're looking at 470-ish tickets issued. You're looking at 12 DWI. Now, this is just the New York State Police, not counting any other local agency in the area. When you look at collisions, there's 29 collisions within a three-day span."