Hoboken’s annual LepreCon bar crawl is just two days away, but by this time in past years city officials would be warning revelers and bars to keep in line during the unofficial St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

The event, which is a pot of gold for watering holes on the first Saturday of March, always results in arrests, hospitalizations and summonses for offenses like being drunk in public and public urination. Last year, one of the green-clad revelers had to be fished out of the Hudson River.

Usually the city’s police department would be tweeting about the heavy police presence planned, laying down guidelines and warning that the rule of law would be maintained.

Not this year.

Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante said the silent treatment is a tactic the department sometimes employs.

“We don’t really put things out there if we don’t have to because we don’t want to attract attention to it,” Ferrante said Wednesday, adding that the department has been monitoring online ticket sales and advertisements for the event. He said he believes turnout may be low this year.

“We have been preparing for a month and we are ready to go from 8 a.m. to 5 a.m. the next day,” the chief said, adding that the bars close at 3 a.m. but disturbances then switch over to the city’s late-night eateries.

When The Jersey Journal contacted Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla for his thoughts on this year’s LepreCon, a city official responded only that the mayor “would prefer that this event did not exist.”

LepreCon is not a city-sponsored event and is not issued a permit.

The Jersey Journal contacted to a handful of the bars participating in the event, and all but one refused to comment.

A manager at The Shannon on First Street said new management took over the bar about nine months ago. “We do not know what to expect, but it should be busy.” He said the bar would bring in extra security for Saturday’s festivities.

During last year’s LepreCon, four people were arrested, 38 tickets were issued for violating city ordinances, and 23 people were brought to the hospital. That tally was considered a bit lower than usual.

Ferrante said that at its peak, the police department will have 106 of its 150 officers deployed Saturday. They will be augmented by 27 officers from Union City, K9 units from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Port Authority and New Jersey Transit police departments. That will bring the tally up to about 200.

The chief says he thinks bars are reticent to publicize their participation in the event in order to maintain a good relationship with the city.

“They don’t want to say anything that will make someone think, make me think, they are promoting an event that can be a problem,” said Ferrante, adding that the number of bars participating in the event has dropped to eight. “It’s better to promote a 365-reputable business place than trying to make a couple of months of their bills on three or four days.”

Hoboken’s rowdy nightlife was back in the spotlight last fall when videos showing party-goers engaging in sex acts at The Hub circulated on social media. The bar was shut down by the city on Sept. 12 and later evicted by the group that owns the Hudson Place building.

When the annual SantaCon bar crawl rolled around in December, 14 people were arrested despite fewer bars participating.