Arrests up 21 percent at University of Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The number of University of Iowa students cited and arrested by police this past school year jumped 21 percent from the year before.

The spike is largely the result of an increase in several drug and alcohol-related offenses, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported.

In the 2010-11 academic year, police charged 1,330 students for offenses other than minor traffic infractions, up from 1,098 the previous academic year. That's roughly 1 in 23 Iowa students who were cited or arrested between Aug. 1 and May 20.

Police and university officials cited the expanded downtown presence by the university's Department of Public Safety and the Iowa City police department's increased focus on patrolling the near-downtown neighborhoods. Officials also pointed to a change in the city's minimum bar-entry age and increased enforcement around Kinnick Stadium on days the Hawkeyes are playing.

Dean of Students David Grady said the increase in citations and arrests is disturbing.

"Anytime a student is arrested, it's concerning," he said. "There's legal issues they have to deal with. In addition, it could limit future opportunities, whether it's for graduate school or employment, those kinds of things, because they have something on their record."

An annual report from the Dean of Students' office, which tracks the statistics back to the 2006-07 school year, said last year marked the largest number of student citations and arrests over the past five years.

University public safety officers cited and arrested more students than Iowa City police for the first time in the five years of data compiled by the dean's office. University police accounted for 53 percent of student arrests this past year, compared to 35 percent in 2009-10.