AMHERST - Arrests, summons to court and tickets for what Amherst police call "quality-of-life" offenses were at record highs this fall.

Statistics compiled by the police department in a preliminary report, coinciding with the end of the first semester at the University of Massachusetts, show 506 offenses related to noise, nuisance house, keg and open container bylaw violations, minors in possession of alcohol and unlawful use of fake identification cards.

Police Capt. Chris Pronovost said these numbers shouldn't be surprising, as the department has been fielding a growing amount of calls from residents who are affected by disruptive behavior often fueled by alcohol consumption.

"The rise in the number of people being charged corresponds to the number of complaints we are responding to," Pronovost said. "It was an extremely busy fall."

The increase in these offenses, though, comes during the second fall semester in which the penalties for violating the four municipal bylaws are set at $300 each. Previously, open container violations were assessed at $50, noise violations at $100 and unlicensed kegs at $200.

Pronovost said he is not discouraged by the figures, noting that both the police department and other advocates for the increase in fines, including members of the Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking, knew increased penalties wouldn't be an immediate deterrent.

"We always said there would be a learning curve," Pronovost said.

Of the 506 offenses, 296 have associated fines for up to $300 apiece. If all the fines were to be collected, the town would have an additional $88,800 in its general fund.

But Pronovost said this will likely be a significantly lower amount, as people go through the court system where judges, like officers responding at the scenes, have discretion. Some cases are dismissed entirely, some where multiple tickets are issued at one dwelling are combined into one ticket and other times the fines are reduced, Pronovost said.

Besides breaking a record for the most quality-of-life offenses in a fall semester, both noise complaints, which carry $300 penalties, and minors in possession of alcohol arrests or summons, which have no associated fine, were up.

Noise complaints led to 139 arrests, summons or tickets, four more than in fall 2010.

"That's been a steady upward trend," Pronovost said.

In fact, the number of noise responses leading to police action beyond issuing oral and written warnings is nearly quadruple what it was just four years ago. In fall 2007, just 47 individuals were arrested, summoned or issued tickets during the entire semester.

The majority of offenders are issued tickets, Pronovost said, noting it has been a good tool for the department because it takes less time for officers than arresting and booking would. It also allows the officers to handle a greater call volume even with reduced departmental staffing, he said.

The 202 individuals arrested or summoned to court for being minors in possession of alcohol broke the old mark of 177, set in 2007.

Coinciding with the enforcement of the noise bylaw is the use of the nuisance house bylaw, which was adopted by Town Meeting in 2008 and approved for use beginning that fall, when eight individuals were arrested or summoned to court on the charge. Violations of this so-called social host bylaw went up to 11 in 2009 and 41 last year, but dropped to 37 this fall.

The nuisance house bylaw provides not only fines, but a mechanism in which, after multiple offenses at one address, landlords can eventually be held responsible if they don't begin eviction proceedings against their tenants.

Two areas where enforcement seems to have had a demonstrably positive effect is on the number of open container and keg violations, both of which have been dropping. Open container violations have fallen from 174 in fall 2009 to 153 last fall to 118 this fall, while keg violations have been reduced from 10 last fall to two this fall.

Pronovost said he expects to finish compiling the data to share with the Campus and Community Coalition, for which he is a liaison, sometime next month. He said it will help plan strategies for the warm-weather period of the spring semester.

The department may also use the information to adjust its sector patrol system. Put in place by Police Chief Scott Livingstone, the system allows officers to get to know specific parts of town, Pronovost said.

"We identify problem areas and put officers where they're needed," Pronovost said.

The department is also applying for a state grant through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security that will pay officers overtime hours during what are anticipated to be busy spring weekends.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.