Arrests drop during holidays

While students flocked away from Bloomington for the holidays, they left behind a pretty calm and peaceful area, said Indiana State Police Cpl. James Valentine.\nBloomington District 33, which includes Brown, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe and Owen counties, reported four property damage crashes and four DUI citations between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.\nValentine said the fact that New Year’s Eve fell on a Monday night benefited the police officers because people get less time off of work to party than if it fell on a Friday night, Valentine said.\nAlthough District 33 uses federal grant money to add patrols during the weekends of Christmas, the department reported no major criminal activity over the winter break.\n“You never really can fully predict what the holidays will bring,” Valentine said. “This time we were pretty fortunate.”