By Linda Wilkins
Staff Writer
The Waco Police Department is cracking down on people playing loud music from their cars or homes, Commander Bill Hall said.
“We’ve received many complaints about loud stereos,” Hall said. “People have gone to City Council, too.”
Because the Waco PD is typically shorthanded on Fridays and Saturdays when the music is most often the problem, many officers did not issue a warning or a ticket in the past, Hall said. But now they are going to.
A verbal warning was previously the common consequence for music violations, but now a written warning and/or a ticket will be issued, Hall said.
Waco PD encourages people to comply with the city ordinance concerning sound violations, which states any music exceeding 85 decibels during the day or 80 decibels at night is a violation, Hall said.
The ordinance also lists loud, irritating or disruptive music as violations, he said.
The loud music violations have occurred throughout Waco, and there is no particular area where the problem is worse than others, Hall said.
There also is no particular music that is considered more disruptive, he said — it is the volume at which it is played that is the problem.
“Be respectful of others and don’t force them to listen to your music,” Hall said.
Hall said the Waco PD is looking into encouraging changes to the ordinance that would result in greater penalties for repeated violations and the inclusion of irritating bass vibrations among the other sound violations.
Baylor Police Department Chief Jim Doak said the Baylor PD was informed of the heightened enforcement of the ordinance, but they were not asked to participate with the Waco PD.
He said the Baylor PD will ask people playing loud music to turn it down if they hear it.
