APD: Drinkers beware

Emily Mcniel
February 12, 1997

Students have been tipping the bottle as usual, but the police department has been cracking down on liquor violations, said Ames Police Chief Dennis Ballantine.

Ames liquor violations were up 51 percent in 1996, according to year-end statistics.

Liquor violations, which include more than 13 different categories such as the popular minor-on-the-premises and underage-drinking tickets, are up dramatically because of the crack-down, Ballantine said. Records show there were 1,447 arrests for liquor-law violations in 1996, up from 958 in 1995.

“We are a young community that likes to party, and that leads to an excessive use of alcohol,” Ballantine said.

There were 546 underage possession citations issued in 1996, up from 365 in 1995. Police cited 225 minors in the bars last year, up from 198 in 1995.

Public intoxication citations were also up, from 330 in 1995 to 479 in 1996.

Officials say the increases are partly due to $10,000 in state money that was awarded to Ames police from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau last year. Ballantine said the money was used to pay officers overtime when they work programs like “Cops in Shops,” which is designed to catch underage drinkers outside of stores.

The 1996 year-end crime statistics for Ames also show increases in arson, auto theft, sexual assaults, robbery and OWI arrests.

Total arrests went from 2,746 in 1995 to 3,348 in 1996, which Ballantine called a “significant number.”

Still, Ames’ top cop says the city is a safe place to live.

Ballantine pointed out that most crimes committed in Ames can be directly attributed to alcohol abuse, and that is where police are concentrating.

Arrests for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated were up 13 percent from 1995.

According to the year-end report, the numbers for males and females being arrested for OWI vary greatly. In 1996, there were 138 males arrested for OWI and 30 females. However, this was a 114 percent increase for females. There was only a slight increase for males.

“Social life is very important for college students,” Ballantine said,” but they need to learn to keep it [cars] between the ditches.”

He said night officers target drunk drivers because it is a “preventable crime.”

Although the report didn’t break down the age of people committing the crimes, Ballantine said most offenders are under 25.

Other points of note

* Sexual assaults rose from 12 in 1995 to 27 in 1996, a 125 percent increase. The most significant jump was forcible rape. There were 5 forcible rapes in 1995 and 17 in 1996.

* On the bright side, there haven’t been any murders in Ames for several years. Ballantine said Ames traditionally has been a community with more property crimes and few crimes against people.

“Thank God we’re not real big on killing each other. We haven’t had any murders for a couple of years, which is a little bit unusual for a town this size,” he said.