Little 5 weekend arrests double from ’06

Driving through town Sunday, the pounds of litter scattered through yards suggested that many students had a good weekend. In fact, local police officials report that some had too much fun.\nBetween Friday morning and Sunday night, 44 people were arrested by the IU Police Department, mainly on charges of public intoxication and illegal possession. This number is significantly higher than last year. During the last two years of “the greatest college weekend,” arrest numbers were low, accounting for just 22 arrests in 2006. That number is on par with an average weekend arrest log, said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger.\nDespite higher arrest numbers from IUPD, Indiana State Excise Police reported a weekend low in criminal activity.\nWhile last year brought about 179 charges in total, only 103 citations were issued this past weekend, said Travis Thickstun, an officer with the Indiana State Excise Police.\nHe attributed the lower number to both a relaxed morale and a smaller police presence.\n“I think in general the atmosphere was just a little bit more relaxed than in previous years,” Thickstun said. “We also had fewer officers working this year than in previous years.”\nStill, a noticeable number of people faced excise police at some point during the weekend. Most of these charges \nrelated to minors, Thickstun said.\nSeventy-nine minors, between the ages of 18 and 20, were cited for possession of alcohol, while 13 of them possessed false identification. A handful of others received charges of public intoxication, resisting law enforcement, indecent exposure and false informing.\nSeveral people of legal drinking age faced charges due to contributing to minors’ alcohol consumptions in some fashion, Thickstun said. \nWhile IUPD had arrests of a similar nature to the excise police, the types of charges seemed to come in shifts.\nFrom Friday night to Saturday morning, the main entries on the police log, at least in relation to alcohol, were charges of illegal consumption.\nBy Saturday the charge of choice was public intoxication, many coming from inside Armstrong Stadium, the site of the Little 500 cycling race.\n“We work inside the stands,” said IUPD Sgt. Craig Munroe. “We walk laps around the track.” Under IU’s classification of a dry campus, no alcoholic beverages are allowed inside the stadium, regardless of the age of the drinker.\nAs Saturday evening approached, illegal possession or consumption had taken the lead\nfor the most-likely citation, with the location of such incidents spanning the area. From 13th Street and Fee Lane to the Seventh Street parking garage, to several arrests in Wright and Teter quads.\n“There were quite a few arrests,” said IUPD Sgt. Rebecca Lucas, “but nothing that was out of the ordinary. For the most part it was illegal consumption and public intoxication.”\nThe main difference in arrests this year, from either IUPD or excise forces, was the ticketing of establishments, Thickstun said. Whereas last year five different bars or taverns were charged with contributing to minors’ infractions in some fashion, none were cited this year. This is despite block-long lines leading to Nick’s English Hut, Kilroy’s Sports Bar and even larger queues on Friday and Saturday nights.\nWhile the weekend produced the most arrests, partying began well before Friday, with some tapping a keg as early as Monday. By Thursday night, police made 37 arrests, with 31 attributed to alcohol and six more \nto marijuana.\nTrash on the streets, picked up Sunday by many of those who had been ticketed in days prior, suggested that much of the partying happened outside of residences.