The number of students cited for alcohol-related offenses in the West University neighborhood has dramatically decreased over the past two weekends, ending the trend of out-of-control parties that led the Eugene Police Department to cite more than 500 people in the area since the Sept. 27 riot.
The reasons for the decrease are unknown, but some point to inclement weather while others believe students are partying more responsibly. Meanwhile, EPD was forced to cut its West University Focused Patrol — which wrote a majority of the citations — in part because of costs.
After the riots, EPD increased its presence in the neighborhood, giving eight officers and one sergeant overtime pay to patrol during the five weekends before Halloween.
But over the past two weekends, EPD spokeswoman Pam Olshanski said the department has decided there is no reason to have additional officers patrol the neighborhood. EPD could not estimate how many officers will patrol the area in the future, but Olshanski said the department will continue to have a police presence.
“Essentially, the activity has decreased,” she said. “If (students are) still partying, then it’s not requiring a phone call to us.”
Student Affairs Vice President and Dean of Students Anne Leavitt said she thinks EPD has been effective in saturating patrols in the neighborhood, and that even without the additional officers, the department will still be paying a lot of attention to the area.
“I think a combination of the police and the University notifying students about how to hold responsible parties and how to behave properly has clearly been effective,” she said.
Jeannine Parisi, an analyst for the Eugene Police Commission, said the weather also could be one reason for a decrease in activity.
“Once it gets colder and wetter, the number of people partying in their yards and walking around with open containers decreases,” she said.
Parisi said EPD decided not to deploy as many officers in the neighborhood after Halloween because of cost expenses; EPD spends about $6,000 each weekend it has overtime officers patrol the neighborhood.
“It is simply a resource issue,” Parisi said. “We could be spending this money on other programs.”
Leading up to Halloween, the neighborhood was clearly a party spot. The day following the riot, Sept. 28, EPD issued 55 citations.
The number of citations issued increased dramatically over the next few weeks. On Oct. 4 and 5, 125 citations were handed out, and on Oct. 11 and 12, EPD issued about 123 citations.
But in the next two weekends, the number of citations declined. On Oct. 18 and 19, 55 citations were handed out, and 84 people received tickets on Oct. 25 and 26.
The Halloween weekend marked the final appearance of the West University Focused Patrol. The patrol issued 47 citations on Halloween and distributed about 18 citations on the nights of Nov. 1 and 2.
Over the last two weeks, EPD has stopped compiling data about neighborhood citations.
“Do we think partying is gone? No,” Olshanski said. “We’re not that blind to college life on a Friday or Saturday night.”
As for future police presence, Olshanski said EPD will increase patrols if it has reason to believe that there will be a high level of party activity in the neighborhood for a particular weekend.