After a rainy Saturday night with

little disturbance, Kent’s Halloween festivities ended with fewer arrests than

in previous years.

Kent Police Lt. Mike Lewis called this weekend’s celebration, “the calmest Halloween in recent memory.”

“In the years past, we have seen a number of assaults, fights, thefts and even aggravated robberies,” Lewis said. “We used to see gridlock traffic and overcrowded lawns, sidewalks and roadways in our residential areas along East. Main Street. Having a lively and lawful celebration downtown among the bars and restaurants is one thing, but we don’t need that in our residential neighborhoods.”

Both the Kent Police and the Kent State University Police agreed violent crimes during Halloween have decreased.

“It seems that the past few years have been trending low as far as number of arrests and people participating in the Halloween event downtown,” said KSUPD officer Tricia Knoles.

In 2012, Kent Police made 64 arrests on Halloween. This year, only 13 arrests were made off campus. KSUPD reported 16 arrests/citations; only 11 on-campus arrests/citations were made in the last two years.

Lewis is convinced, despite the rain, the department’s proactive approach toward Halloween was effective in managing the number of people who turned out.

“Educating our students about the dangers of this night and getting their cooperation has shown a lot of success,” Lewis said.

Lewis also thanked the Kent community for the reduction in criminal activity

during Halloween.

“A number of Kent city employees, Kent police, Kent State police, Kent State staff

and students, business and property managers all came together to make this

a much safer night.”

David Williams is a general assignment reporter. Contact him at [email protected].