Iowa City neighborhood parties down, despite resident complaints

Iowa City Police have received a number of calls from residents living in neighborhoods near downtown complaining that the house parties held last weekend were comparable to those held on football game day weekends.

But police records indicate that is not true.

According to reports from August 19-22 of this year, compared to those of last year during the same time period, the number of loud party complaints and calls for service are actually down, said Sergeant Denise Brotherton of the Iowa City Police Department.

“We always have parties this time of year,” Sgt. Brotherton said.

The number of loud parties, fight calls, and intoxicated pedestrian incidents decreased from 2009.

Police data indicates  in 2009, there were 97 calls for service, 32 of those for loud parties.  This past weekend, police received 66 calls for service.  19 of those calls were for loud parties.  The calls for service reports include calls for loud parties, intoxicated persons, out with a subject, and criminal mischief.

Residents living in the Northside neighborhood which is located just north of downtown Iowa City say so far this year the partying has not been too extreme.

“Pretty good last weekend,” said Susan Futrell who has lived in Northside for 15 years.

Futrell said parties in the area can get “pretty bad” but they vary depending on the students living in the rental units.

“Every school year there are a few houses in the neighborhood that have big parties,” she said.

Other neighbors in the area say the house parties are not bothersome at all.  In fact, Tim Volm believes there has actually been a decrease in the number of “drunken parties.”

“The past couple of years the type of drunkenness – the guys stumbling - that's dramatically down,” Volm said.  “You just don't see it.  I haven't had anybody pass out on my porch for years.”

Still, police know there are those residents who are concerned about house parties.  Police plan to increase their patrols of downtown neighborhoods this weekend.