6A
Monday, November 6, 1995
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OUI arrests vary widely
Numbers fluctuated in recent years; police say reasons unclear
By Scott Worthington Kansan staff writer
KU police officers have dished out 84 more drunken-driving arrests this year than they did all of last year, continuing a growing trend.
In 1990, the department made 11 arrests for operating under the influence (OUI). That number jumped to 39 in 1991, to 233 in 1992, sagged to 136 in 1993, then plummeted to 37 last year. This year, the number was 121 as of Oct. 23.
drivers, Rozmiarek said.
Still, the force had the same number of employees in 1993, when 136 drunken drivers were arrested, as they did last year, when 37 were arrested.
James Eckhardt, DeSoto senior, said the jump of almost 200 OUIs from 1991 to 1992 seemed suspicious
"We may have the same physical number of people, but the physical amount of time may not be there," Rozmiarek said.
"I don't think it has anything to do with the 1992 freshmen drinking more." he said.
The 1992 figure — the highest during the last five years — could have been a reflection of an overall increase in Kansas
Rozmiarek said the department doesn't doesn't have an OUI quota.
said Sara Wright, Topeka sophomore.
Rose Rozmiark of the KU police agreed there was a disparity but said it was difficult to explain why.
"We don't have a set number," she said. "We don't say we have
A possible explanation could be the amount of time officers have to check for drunken driving. Rozmiarek said.
In 1992, the department's budget was cut by 3 percent. One result was a reduction in staff from 36 to 31.
Fewer officers meant each officer was asked to do more, such as taking reports over the phone, which reduced the amount of time they could spend actively seeking drunk
crime, Rozmirarek said. According to the 1992 book, "Crime in Kansas," which is published by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas crime rose almost 10 percent that year.
"I do know OUIs were up all through the state that year," Rozmiarek said.
Students, who represent 52 percent of those given OUIs this year, said they would like to see more consistency in the year-to year numbers.
"If they're going to be strict with their laws, they shouldn't do it every once in a while,"
to get this manv a year."
Most students said they'd like to see the number not only more consistent but consistently high.
Tye Kirk — a Monticello, Iowa, junior who said he received an OUI two years ago — said he thought the actual number of people driving drunk did not fluctuate that much each year.
"All you have to do is stand outside a bar and watch people stumble into their cars," Kirk said.
The 1992 total of 233 sounded about right, he said.
"They'd get that many easy if they were trying," he said.
Stricter, more consistent enforcement would be more fair and keep drunk drivers off the road. Wright said.
"I think that's the only way they will solve the problem," she said.
Making movies
Chad Mitchell. Overland Park graduate student, does it all. He works the camera, runs the sound and directs Stephane Suezos, St. Louis junior, and Matthew von Waaden, Leawood senior, in his final film class project at the Louise Nevelson sculpture near Campanile Drive.
Andy Rullestad / KANSAI
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