Get to root of alcohol problem

Good for those Iowa City bar owners who have ponied up to help pay for more police patrols on the city's busy Pedestrian Mall on weekend nights.

But not quite good enough.

Because while those extra officers will help keep the peace in the busy downtown area, they alone can't get at the root of the problem there.

Too many people are drinking far too much alcohol downtown, causing fights, sexual assaults, accidents, injuries, vandalism and other nuisance crimes.

And while police and bar staff say the extra patrols have helped keep a lid on violence, it's not the whole answer.

Bars also must do a better job of controlling how and to whom they serve. It's their legal and ethical responsibility to do so.

Police calls for fights and assaults were up 31 percent in the first three months of this year over the same time period the year before.

Usually, two or more Iowa City Police officers are assigned to patrol downtown by foot on weekend nights.

Six owners of Pedestrian Mall bars started paying for the extra patrols more than a month ago, because of concerns over late-night fights in the area.

Iowa City owners of the Union Bar, the Fieldhouse, Vito's, Martini's, TCB and Dc's all have contributed money to allow for two extra patrol officers from 10 p.m. Friday and Saturdays until 2:30 a.m.

Although the evidence is all anecdotal, people have told The Gazette they think the extra patrols have made a difference in Iowa City's late-night downtown culture.

Chief Sam Hargadine has been asking city councilors for more police officers for years, but budgets are tight.

It's not unusual for police to contract to provide services to private businesses. The bars picking up the patrol tab don't have any say in what the officers do. They don't receive any preferential treatment.

Still, Iowa City Police Capt. Matt Johnson told a Gazette reporter he found the funding arrangement “moderately unpalatable.”

It leaves a bit of a bad taste in our mouths, too.

It's one thing when police contract to provide extra security for, say, a bank after a robbery.

But it seems different, somehow, when officers are handling problems started by people who have loaded up with dangerously high amounts of alcohol - problems that might have been avoided by a little moderation in the first place.

Bar owners have made a good show of community spirit by funding these extra police patrols.

But is it primarily a show?

To put their money where their mouths are, all owners also should train staff not to serve alcohol to intoxicated customers - and hold their employees accountable if they do. Reducing overconsumption of alcohol is vital to a safer downtown.