August had a significant increase in arrests and charges statistics, from 104 in July to 156 in August. The Ames Police Department says that this increase happens annually as the fall semester begins.
“The school year starts, and that always brings a lot of new folks to town, and we also generally have more calls for service once the students arrive,” public information officer Sergeant Amber Christian said.
Students returning to campus raised accident statistics, going from 91 in July to 126 in August. They were also responsible for the increase in arrests and charges.
The total estimated damage for August significantly increased compared to July, growing from $453,812 to $666,920. This increase is credited to the increase in accident statistics.
August citation numbers stayed relatively consistent from July, from 147 to 155. Written warnings decreased from 140 in July to 100 in August.
Another major increase in numbers comparing July and August is the use of force incidents. There were nine use-of-force incidents in July and 13 in August. The department says officers have more contact with the public, potentially increasing the chance of a use of force incident in addition to having more calls for services
“A lot of those numbers involved alcohol, so the person was either under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and that can also play an impact on their likeliness or the likelihood that they’re going to cooperate,” Christian said.
Christian also notes that some of the use of force incidents were related to mental health calls.
The department is excited to announce that all of its officers have made it through the field training program, meaning everyone is out on their own. Other training highlights include crowd management training in preparation for welcome week and the Cy-Hawk football game, emergency response team training and applied suicide intervention skills training.
August Summary statistics:
Calls for Service: 2,843
Year to date Calls for Service: 20,716
Arrests/Charges: 156
Accidents: 126
Citations: 155
Written Warnings: 100
Use of Force Incidents: 13
Total Estimated Damage: $666,920
