Complaints to Eunice Police dipped slightly in 2019, but arrests were up, according to statistics released by the department this month.
Police Chief Randy Fontenot said the lower number of complaints is a good sign.
“Now, what I did notice as well is the number of arrests we made in 2019 was a little higher higher than our average number of arrests,” he said.
The higher number of arrests indicates officers were able to solve cases, he said.
“That’s one of the top things I spotted right off the bat.”
The statistics show there were 10,110 complaints logged by police in 2019 for an average of 842.5 a month. Complaints in other years were: 9,823 in 2018; 12,534 in 2017; 12,786 in 2016; 10,845 in 2015; 11,423 in 2014; 11,562 in 2013; and 11,980 in 2012.
The statistics are from 2012 to 2019.
DWI arrests standout in the statistics. In 2012, there were 70 DWI arrests. In 2019, there were 17 DWI arrests.
Fontenot said DWI arrests have been on the decline for several years.
In the period covered in the statistics, the highest number of DWI arrests occurred in 2013 with 79.
Fontenot speculated recent declines reflect the department being shorthanded or losing officers who were adept at spotting impaired drivers.
“You have some officers that they specialize in DWI arrests. They work it and they watch for violations that may lead to DWI arrests,” he said.
But Fontenot also thinks there are social changes are work in reducing DWI arrests.
“People today, they don’t drive and drink as much as they used to because the attitude toward drunk driving is a lot different than it was 20 or 30 years ago,” he said.
Bars in south Louisiana stayed open 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the 1990s.
“Younger people now a lot of times do follow advice and get designated drivers if they re going to be drinking,” he said.
“Now,they are taught more about drunk driving and how to avoid it and that they should avoid it,” he said. “And, social pressure has a lot to do with it.”
Fontenot said when he was patroling in the 1980s and early 1990s there were 150 to 200 DWI arrests each year.
Another factor is weekend traffic is much lighter now, he said.
Laurel Avenue years ago was full of traffic on Friday and Saturday nights with kids riding around, he said.
Young people would “gang up” on the parking lots and make the rounds, he said.
“We don’t have nearly the traffic on 190 on Fridays and Saturdays by teens. Teenagers are staying home a lot more,” he said.
One reason teens turned into homebodies is social media, he said.
“They don’t socialize like they used to,” he said.
“I guess they stay home and play video games because they don’t socialize in the parking lots,” he said.
“They don’t go to the movies because they stream their movies,” he added.
And they are socializing on social media, he added.
