First-week arrests up from 2003

Reading the IU Police Department blotter can be quite a chore for many students, as arrests on alcohol-related charges are steadily rising.\nAccording to IUPD statistics, arrests during the first week of school were more than triple what the were last year.\nFrom the first day of class until the following Sunday, 68 students were arrested on alcohol-related charges, including public intoxication, drunk driving and minor possession and consumption charges, compared to just 18 arrests during the same time period last year. Even students who just receive a ticket are considered as being arrested in IUPD statistics. \nThose statistics indicate the arrest numbers are down from the 2002-2003 school year's first week, which had a total of 121 arrests. \nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said the increase in numbers is not due to any increase in patrols or any specific effort to crack down on student drinking. \n"If anything, we have a few less officers patrolling because of recent budget cuts," Minger said. \nIn regard to the increase in arrests from this year to last, Minger said conclusions cannot really be drawn from arrest numbers alone. \n"In order to draw conclusions, you have to look at each arrest," Minger said. "For example, if we had a seat belt checkpoint, and it turns out there were seven people in the car who had been drinking, that's seven arrests right there." \nMinger said a few minor incidents like this can quickly add up to a lot of arrests in one week. He said events such as home football games can also inflate arrest records.\nMinger said the IUPD is not adopting a zero-tolerance policy, like that installed at Ball State beginning this school year. \nStudents at Ball State were warned any infraction involving alcohol would result in a citation, regardless of any extenuating circumstances. \nStill, Minger said the IUPD has always had a zero-tolerance policy on crime just as all police departments should.\n"We have a zero-tolerance policy on all crime," Minger said. "We have zero tolerance for theft, zero tolerance for vandalism, so we also have a no tolerance policy for underage drinking."\nFreshman Paul McKendree, 19, was issued a citation for illegal possession/consumption Sept. 4. \n"There was no way I could have gotten out of it," McKendree said. "I was riding in the car with my girlfriend ... she blew (into the Breathalyzer), so I had to. I was honest, I told them I was drinking ... and got a ticket."\nMcKendree thinks the IUPD made their presence known the first week of school to, "show they are here," to students.\n"I think they are still trying to combat the 'No. 1 party school' image," McKendree said, "and that is why they pay more attention to drinking."\n-- Contact staff writer Mike Wilson at mhwilson@indiana.edu .