Weekend arrests 'relatively mild'

Sidelined by cold and rainy weather on Friday, the kickoff to the Little 500 weekend got a slow start. But as the sky cleared for Saturday's race, the parties gained speed and the IU Police Department was in for a long couple days of work.\nFrom Saturday morning into the early hours of Sunday, IUPD arrested 30 people, four of whom were dealt multiple charges. With the exception of one person who was charged with assault, every arrest was a liquor law violation. Topping out the police reports as the most frequent charge was illegal possession with 22 arrests. Nine people were arrested for public intoxication, and one person was arrested for drunk driving. \nFriday presented even less action than Saturday as fewer than 20 arrests were made. Police said all the charges were alcohol related.\nLt. Jerry Minger said while the arrest numbers are comparable to previous Little 500s, this weekend was relatively mild. The poor weather on Friday and fewer social events like a Little 500 dance or concert provided for a calmer atmosphere around campus, he said. Especially during large events like the race, Minger said all of the alcohol arrests stem from people bringing attention to themselves through illegal activity.\n"We don't go out looking this stuff," Minger said. "It's always the same scenario; we arrive at the location because the person is committing some other disturbance, and we usually find that there is alcohol involved."\nFor Sgt. Don Schmuhl, this weekend was his 26th time working during the Little 500. Schmuhl said over the past 10 years he has noticed a decrease in alcohol-related arrests during Little 500 weekend. The combination of increased law enforcement and improved efforts to educate students about alcohol has contributed to the decrease, he said.\nBecause the Little 500 is conducive to large crowds and loud parties, IUPD is forced to rearrange their normal schedule in order to ensure that sufficient police assistance is present around the campus. More officers walk the beat during Little 5 weekend, and in addition to six marked squad cars that usually cruise the streets, officers patrol the campus in several unmarked cars and on bicycles. IUPD also receives assistance from the state, county and city police departments.\nBut the extra help does not come easy for the officers. Many have to work on days that they usually have off, and some end up working 14-hour shifts on consecutive days.\n"There's no vacation time this weekend," Minger said. "Everyone, from the chief all the way down to the cadets, will work at some point during the weekend."\nBut Minger said many of the officers who are hungry for more money see the extra hours during Little 500 weekend as an opportunity to clock in more hours for a bigger paycheck.\n"The extra hours the officers work can be exhausting, but it's not like they're going away unpaid after this weekend," he said. "A lot of them look at it as a chance to make some extra money."\nDespite the extended hours and tiresome shifts that the Little 500 has in store for the officers, Schmuhl said the department still looks forward to the weekend like everyone else at IU. \n"We're a part of the University too, so we all enjoy the race and look forward to it," Schmuhl said. "And I think the hard work and long hours the officers put in show just how much we want to make the weekend as safe and enjoyable as possible"