Tempe police issued written warnings to 30 residences for holding noisy parties over Labor Day weekend.
A four-officer patrol responded to 72 loud party complaints on Friday and Saturday, though the department's party patrol did not issue any second response fines or notices.
In an attempt by the Tempe City Council and police to reduce the number of "nuisance" complaints in Tempe neighborhoods, the party patrol was established.
Kinesiology senior James Meetze said he was at a party over the weekend where police showed up.
"The cops came, but I guess they just issued a warning," Meetze said. "We turned down the stereo, and everything quieted down."
In addition to the noise warnings, the party patrol issued 26 parking citations and three criminal citations for acts like urinating in public.
Meetze said no criminal citations were handed out at the party he attended.
"But it's sort of inevitable that the cops are going to come if a party gets out of control," he said.
"The prospect of a huge fine is enough for me and most of my friends to get people inside, quiet and under control, though," Meetze added.
Tempe's "Large Parties, Gatherings or Events" ordinance defines a large party as a social event with five or more persons.
According to the city of Tempe Web site, officers issue a written warning to party hosts on their first response to a loud party call. Officers may then issue a fine of up to $1,000 if they are called back to the scene within 12 hours of the initial complaint. The ordinance also specifies that property owners must be notified if officers respond to a rental property.
The Tempe City Council is currently reviewing a proposal by residents to fine party hosts up to $1,000 if officers must make a return visit within as many as 120 days from the initial complaint.
Other law enforcement efforts concentrated on reducing the number of drunk drivers during the holiday weekend.
Tempe police officers, working in conjunction with other departments around the Valley, arrested 216 people for alcohol-related driving violations on Friday and Saturday.
The East Valley DUI Task Force arrested 51 impaired drivers in Tempe and south Scottsdale on Friday night, while 60 drivers were arrested in Mesa. Officers arrested an additional 105 impaired drivers on Saturday night, said Tempe Sgt. Dan Masters.
Sixteen of the arrests made by officers were for extreme DUI.
According to the Arizona Revised Statutes, persons can be charged with extreme DUI if they have an alcohol concentration of .15 or more while driving or within two hours of doing so.
The average blood-alcohol content of all those arrested was .171, more than twice the legal limit of .08.
Officers also made seven arrests for liquor law violations, including underage consumption of alcohol and use of fake IDs.
Reach the reporter at kelly.vaughn@asu.edu.
