The Kent Police Department and the Kent State University Police reported that this year’s Halloween weekend celebrations saw similar arrests compared to recent years.

There were 17 arrests made from Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. to Sunday, Oct. 29 at 7 a.m., Kim Lafferty, a records clerk at the Kent Police Department, said.

None of the arrests made pertained to robberies or felonies. A majority of the 17 arrests were for underage drinking, Lafferty said.

In addition to the underage drinking arrests, Lafferty said there were a few warrant arrests, an operating a vehicle impaired arrest, and four disorderly conduct by intoxication arrests.

In regard to arrests on campus, there was one underage drinking arrest made, Tricia Knoles, Kent State University police sergeant, said.

There were drug-related arrests in the joint jurisdiction area of Lincoln Street and Main Street, as well as a few side streets shared between university police and Kent police, Knoles said.

“We had an officer that made a traffic stop for a tail light violation and also a plain [sight] drug paraphernalia,” Knoles said.

In addition to the arrests made, the number of service calls — any call the university’s police responds to, like theft and foot patrols — decreased from last year, Knoles said.

“[Saturday] at noon through Sunday at 3 p.m., this year we had 96 calls for service, and then last year was 118, maybe,” Knoles said.

Knoles said they experienced fewer arrests this year compared to last year as there were only four juvenile arrests and five adult arrests.  A majority of last year’s arrests were also related to underage drinking.

Knoles said she has noticed a decrease in Halloween celebrations, which started before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think Halloween is starting to become a lot less than what it used to be,” Knoles said. “When I worked the road several years ago, and we would have Halloween and College Fest … we would have tens of thousands of people.”

Adriana Gasiewski is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].