The Eugene Police Department has issued more than 50 minor in possession of alcohol citations during the last two weekends, accounting for about 25 percent of those issued this term alone. And while both EPD and the Department of Public Safety’s MIP statistics are already higher compared with last year, local officials say rises and fluctuations in cited alcohol-related offenses result from several factors, including weather conditions and enforcement.
“It’s essentially up to the people,” Sgt. Peter Aguilar said. “Change is a strange animal.”
According to EPD numbers reported between Friday evenings and Sunday mornings, about 200 MIP citations have been issued so far this term, including the 31 citations issued last weekend. Sunday afternoon, a weekend-shift watch commander said the weekend was “very active” after officers issued more than 20 citations between Friday and Saturday night.
Aguilar, who works on citywide patrol, said the recent rise is not an indication of more people drinking but simply a reflection of more issued citations. Taking into account a variety of factors, from concerts and local events to holidays like Mardi Gras, Aguilar said one factor — warmer weather — has been known to draw more people to the streets.
“When it’s cold, people are partying indoors with doors and windows closed, but when it’s warm they take out the tiki torches and open their backyards,” he said. “People are also more likely to walk from place to place, which increases the chance that (officers) will contact them.”
EPD spokeswoman Pam Olshanski said 142 of the 318 weekend MIP citations reported to EPD last October were issued in the West University neighborhood, an area somewhat notorious for parties and increased enforcement. Out of the 1,548 liquor-law violations issued citywide in 2002 — including possession, furnishing, purchasing and unlicensed kegs — 384 were issued in the area, meaning 24 percent of all citations were issued in a neighborhood holding only four percent of the Eugene population, she said. Despite variations in the most recent statistics because of delayed data entry and case updates, Olshanski said the numbers convey a significant increase in MIPs compared with winter term 2002.
DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks said DPS has received reports of more than 107 MIP cases — which can include one to several citations per case — since September, equaling a 23 percent increase from the same time frame last year. In 2002, DPS reports showed MIP cases to be more prominent in October and February than the last three, warmer months of the school year — April, May and June. Although he couldn’t speculate on the February rise, Hicks said October — being the first full month of the academic year — tends to involve more enforcement from DPS officers who are trying to set the authoritative tone for the year.
“To some extent, it’s going to have to do with the level of enforcement,” he said, “and that varies throughout the year.”
Director of Student Judicial Affairs Chris Loschiavo said he believes the recent warm weather could have increased the attendance of parties held the last two weekends, but trying to predict wild or quiet weekends is a difficult task.
“No one saw the September riot coming, and that happened before classes started,” he said.
Although Student Judicial Affairs receives a different, and in most cases higher, number of MIP reports compared to DPS, Loschiavo said one observation can be made by all local officials and authorities: “This year, we’re already ahead of where we were last year.”
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