By Wylliam Smith
With the school year started and football season kicking into gear, the Iowa City police are picking up party patrols to keep the peace.
Party patrols involve police driving around neighborhoods looking for rowdy house parties.
“I can’t give you an exact year, but the Iowa City Police Department have done this [party patrol] many, many years,” Officer Scott Gaarde said. “The whole purpose is it’s more of an educational thing. To get out in neighborhoods in the fall where it’s nicer weather and people are going out, and just let people know this is what the expectations are going to be.”
Gaarde said the police’s main goal isn’t to ticket students but to make sure that they are safe. According to officials, the police had “popped” 410 parties since Sept. 1, 2015. Out of all those parties, only 46 received citations.
“Nine times out of 10, the problem is solved just by talking to people rather than a citation,” Gaarde said.
University of Iowa freshman George Gonzalez has a different perspective. He said while he can see how party patrols could work and would boost the university’s reputation, the problem isn’t the need to have more patrols, it’s the drinking culture.
“Kids drink because it’s illegal, and they make the situation bigger than it seems,” he said. “Party patrols would be in vain, because whenever kids get a hold of alcohol they will abuse it.”
Iowa City City Councilor John Thomas agrees that “alcohol is what fuels the situation” and said that party patrols are not useless but are helpful for everyone.
“I have lived in Iowa City for seven years,” he said. “I live on the North Side, where there are student rentals, so I see how they can result in disruptive behavior.”
Thomas is the representative of District C, located at the center of Iowa City, which houses a large portion of the local bars. Living there also meant he has to deal firsthand with the problems these parties can cause, he said.
“When I first moved here [the number of parties] took me by surprise,” Thomas said. “Over the years, I can see why they put regulations on how long underage people can stay in the bars, because there were students showing up in the ER because they drank too much.”
Thomas said he understands the need for party patrols, so that Iowa City residents don’t have to contact the police if something goes wrong.
“In short, I support party patrols as a proactive approach to managing the impacts of excessive partying in the neighborhoods before the impacts get out of control, which present a public safety concern for everyone,” he said.
Thomas also stressed how it is not just the residents who can be affected by excessive partying but also the students who could get hurt.
“It’s something that’s not good for anyone,” he said. “Not just the residents, but students overindulging can cause harm to themselves as well. I would say that it’s a public-health risk.”