DUIs up for Hobo Day 2021, overall arrests down

Jacob Boyko, News Editor (He/Him)

 

DUI arrests are up for this year’s Hobo Day while total violations and arrests are down from 2020, according to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Department.

Total charges for Hobo Day 2021 (between Thursday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. through Sunday, Oct. 24 at noon)  reached 82, down 40 from the 122 charges during the same period in 2020. There were 36 arrests this year, a drop of 10 from last year.

The Sheriff’s Office reported 22 DUI charges, up from 14 DUI charges during the same period in 2020. UPD’s crime log shows campus police made two of the DUI arrests between Thursday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at noon. Statistics are not published for Sunday, Oct. 25.

Less-serious miscellaneous traffic charges reached six this year, a drop of five from last year’s 11 charges.

There were 19 underage possession of alcohol or open container charges, down from 31 offenses in 2020, and just seven charges for fake driver’s licenses, down from 21 in 2020.

Other violations, including misdemeanor drug charges, felony drug charges, and assault were all down from last year, though the drop in misdemeanor drug charges was less dramatic—down just one from the 18 charges in 2020.

There was no year-over-year change in warrant arrests (1) and possession of a loaded firearm while intoxicated (1).

UPD reported five vandalism charges in its crime log during this same time-period. Two of them were third-degree charges.

Hobo Day made a return in 2021 after being cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.