The ASU school year brings a lot to Tempe, like diversity, revenue and loud parties.
The number of calls police receive for loud parties increases every August, according to Tempe police.
"August through May tends to be what we call the party season," said Mary Anders, a crime analyst with Tempe police.
But this year, the number of complaints in August decreased by 22 percent from last year.
In 2004, Tempe police received 645 calls complaining of loud parties during August. This year, they received 503 calls.
The city's party ordinance was modified in November 2003 to apply penalties if the same address received a complaint a second time within 90 days. Previously, police could cite a party only if they were called to the same address twice in a 12-hour period.
If cited a second time within 90 days, the resident is fined based on the number of officers required to break up the party. The minimum fine is $250 and the maximum is $1,000, according to Tempe police.
Tempe police has attempted to educate the public in order to decrease the number of calls for service, said Dan Masters, public information officer for Tempe police.
"We arm officers with information brochures," he said.
Masters said police focus on incoming students.
"If they are new to Tempe, they may not know the rules and laws," he said.
But despite police efforts, parties can get out of hand. Don Henning, a housing and urban development senior, said only one of the six parties he has hosted at his Tempe house garnered a citation from police.
"There were so many people there, you know it was going to happen," he said.
Henning said he and his friend were celebrating their 21st birthdays, and about 200 people showed up.
"People were parking in other people's driveways and throwing things into other people's yards," he added.
Henning said he was well aware of the ordinance and its consequences, so the citation didn't come as a surprise.
With his other parties, Henning said neighbors would contact him if it were too loud.
"We'd let them know beforehand," Henning said.
Anders said the August decrease has been part of an overall decline in calls for service. But October tends to be a big party month as well, Anders said.
"We'll have to wait and see what happens then," she added.
The decrease in ordinance violations has come from not only more awareness of the law, but also more people abiding by it, Masters said.
"It's a result of the students and other people playing by the rules," he said. "Obviously we're really excited about the decrease.
"If it gets to the point where we don't have to staff the party patrol, that would be a really great thing."
Reach the reporter at emilia.arnold@asu.edu.