KALAMAZOO, MI — Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas announced Friday afternoon that a police zone would be put in place Saturday in an effort to thwart large crowds that are predicted to gather for annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in off-campus student areas.

“Over the past several years it has become a tradition in Kalamazoo for local college students to gather to celebrate this holiday,” Thomas told reporters at a March 13 media briefing. “KDPS has planned for this event this year as it has in years past, but now we find ourselves in a unique time where a worldwide pandemic has been declared.”

In prior years, crowds of between 4,000 and 6,000 people having gathered together to consume large amounts of alcohol, while throwing simultaneous house parties, taking over entire blocks, open areas and parking lots, Thomas said.

The chief said this year with universities and colleges across the state ceasing in-person instruction, the department has received credible information that students in Kalamazoo will host a "statewide house party.”

That has prompted Kalamazoo Public Safety and its law enforcement partners to brace for an even larger gathering.

Citing the 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state, and the governor’s ban on gatherings exceeding 250 people, Thomas said law enforcement officials have more considerations in managing large crowds outside of traditional safety for party-goers.

In declaring a police zone, Thomas said, areas where the gatherings have traditionally occurred or where they law enforcement believes they could be held will be blockaded off and only verified residents will be allowed inside the police zone.

Thomas did not disclose the boundaries of the police zone or the time frame in which it would be in effect, stating that it could compromise the intelligence law enforcement is gathering.

People who trespassed that zone could be charged with violating a police zone, she said.

“Our goal is to prohibit a large gathering in order to protect the safety of our students, visitors and our first-responders,” Thomas said. “We are all trying to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"By limiting these large gatherings it is one of the many ways we can do that. We do not want anyone to be infected, to carry the virus to different parts of the state or to infect our first-responders whose strength is imperative to weathering this current crisis.”

Western Michigan University President Edward Montgomery told MLive that the university planned to send an announcement to students later Friday afternoon, reinforcing the message that WMU has been working to put student safety first.

“It’s why we’ve taken the action to going online (classes),” Edwards said. "The Public Health Department has said social spread, avoiding large crowds is one of the best things we can do to protect people’s health.

"So, we are encouraging people to keep that in mind, to think about their safety, think about their futures and of the futures of their fellow students, and that getting together in large crowds is both against the law in these particular circumstances — because people are concerned about your safety — but is also not smart.

“They’re smart people, so we hope they follow that advice.”

Also on MLive:

New Kalamazoo ordinance targets ‘nuisance parties’ and rolling X-trains

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer bans gatherings of more than 250 people as coronavirus spreads

Michigan confirms 12 total coronavirus cases

Western Michigan University’s St. Patrick’s Day party drew big crowd, led to several arrests (with videos)

Kalamazoo’s Lafayette Avenue area has a history of partying, disturbances