This year’s Halloween weekend was not so spooky for the officers overseeing it.
Local and statewide police noted few crimes and injuries related to the holiday, which fell on a Monday.
From Friday, Oct. 28 through Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers made overtime enforcement patrols throughout the state. Those patrols resulted in nine misdemeanor arrests for driving under the influence, three car crashes that resulted in injures, 33 crashes that resulted in damage to vehicles and eight people charged with driving with a revoked or suspended license, according to a release from troopers.
There were no fatality accidents or felony DUI arrests made by troopers. Troopers also handed out 337 citations for things including speeding and seatbelt violations, according to the release.
Locally, things were even more quiet. Both the Soldotna and Kenai Police Departments utilized overtime patrol shifts throughout the weekend as well, but officers on the central Kenai Peninsula saw less action.
Kenai Investigations Sgt. Paul Cushman said there was no increase in activity related to the Halloween weekend.
“Typically our … Halloween doesn’t really generate a lot of extra stuff for us,” he said.
Several Soldotna police officers took advantage of a few 14-hour overtime shifts offered by the department and saw similar results, said Soldotna Police Chief Peter Mlynarik.
Monday night brought one report of a vehicle theft in Soldotna, and there was also one report of an assault at Hooligan’s Saloon on Sunday, Mlynarik said.
“We’ve got a lot of presence, so things tend to not get out of control,” he said.
While the lack of injuries or criminal activity could be attributed to Halloween falling on a Monday this year, Cushman said he likes to think the educational outreach the department does also contributes to people staying safe. This year, the department’s school resource officer talked to kids at Mountain View Elementary and the Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Sciences about Halloween safety on Monday.
Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.
