When students, new and old, go out to enjoy their first weekend back on campus they may notice an increase in patrolling officers.

For the first few weeks of the semester, UK will see a rise in police presence in surrounding campus neighborhoods, Interim Police Chief Joe Monroe said.

UK Police, Lexington Police, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and the Fayette Urban County Government’s Division of Code Enforcement will be working together to enforce an educational and enforcement campaign dealing with crime and safety, Lexington Police Lt. Gary Sennett said.

The campaign enforcement will focus on areas from Dantzler Drive to Maxwell Street, across Maxwell toward Ashland Avenue, and in areas such as Aylesford Place, Transylvania Avenue and Kentucky Avenue, Sennett said.

About 20 officers will patrol areas around campus from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., an increase from last year, Monroe said. This increase also includes more officers on bicycles.

Two officers will be focusing solely on impaired driving between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Last year there was nothing to specifically target impaired drivers, Monroe said.

No increase in undercover officers will be made, he said.

“We’ll have more of a visible deterrence and presence in the campus community,” Monroe said.

Kathryn Weinfurtner, a physical therapy graduate student who lives on Journal Avenue, said she has not noticed a significant increase in police patrol recently, but that it makes her feel safer knowing that police are patrolling areas.

Matthew Deffendall, a Lexington resident who lives on Fox Harbor Drive, said he has noticed a concerted effort to start fresh instead of being reactive.

“There is definitely a lot more police presence than there used to be,” Deffendall said.

Code Enforcement kicked off the campaign by distributing about 1,500 flyers to residents on campus. Two different flyers were given out — one was a code enforcement door hanger that said what was and was not acceptable, while the other was a list of safety tips compiled by UK Police.

“We don’t want to have to go bust up parties. We just want everyone to be responsible and mature, that way we don’t have to get involved,” Monroe said.

“You find students who are set in these neighborhoods where it has permanent residents and we want to make sure students know what the laws and ordinances are.”

Monroe said UK Police is going to reevaluate the campaign in September. Depending on how the campaign goes, police might back off the numbers a bit, he said.

“The campaign is … an education process,” Monroe said. “What we’re trying to do is make sure the students are responsible neighbors.”