Birmingham Police Hope for Few Arrests During Dream Cruise

The will be out in force this weekend, but if previous Woodward Dream Cruises serve as a model, they aren't likely to have too much trouble on their hands.

“Everyone pretty much knows what the rules are at this point,” Cmdr. Terry Kiernan said. “And to an extent, they follow them.”

There are 29 police officers in the Birmingham Police Department as well as 12 auxiliary officers, and according to Kiernan, everyone will be out working a 12-hour shift during the weekend of the Woodward Dream Cruise and .

However, with only a two arrests last year and none the year before, Kiernan said the week before and weekend of the Woodward Dream Cruise are relatively quiet — with the exception of roaring engines and exhaust pipes, of course.

“You have a huge volume of people out, but people pretty much behave themselves,” he said, noting that as of Wednesday, Birmingham police have not yet made any Dream Cruise-related arrests. The Dream Cruise is expected to draw a crowd of around 1 million people on Saturday alone, the Oakland County Sheriff said, .

Still, Birmingham police and officers up and down Woodward will be out all day enforcing driving laws and maintaining crowd control. Kiernan said most officers will be on bicycles, patrolling not only the stretch of Woodward Avenue that runs through Birmingham but Old Woodward as well, where the city will host its third annual Birmingham Cruise from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. that same day.

What are the rules? According to Kiernan and various law enforcement officers from surrounding communities, they’re relatively simple:

• Drivers must have registration and insurance documentation, proper license plates and obey all traffic laws.
• Squealing tires and burnouts are strictly prohibited, and Huntington Woods Public Safety Lt. Ron Livingston said drivers and fans will be ticketed for throwing bleach on the road to cause burnouts.
• Alcohol is prohibited as well, and Kiernan said Birmingham police have a zero tolerance policy for those that abuse the rule
• No drag racing is allowed among cruisers
• Fans need to cross at marked crosswalks and cruise spectators are prohibited from hanging out in the median

The Birmingham Police will have a tent near Woodward and Lincoln. If cruise-goers have any concerns, they can speak with any law enforcement officer or visit the Birmingham Police Department in City Hall downtown.

For a look at how neighboring cities are preparing to keep Dream Cruisers safe this weekend, check out