As the Sun Went Down

There were no arrests made by either the East Hampton Town or Village Police Departments on drunken-driving charges this past week. There was one such arrest in Sag Harbor, which took place as the sun went down on Halloween.

Sag Harbor Village police stopped Michael Beckman, 69, at about 5:30 p.m., saying his 2005 Mercedes Benz convertible had gone through a red light at the intersection of Main Street and Brick Kiln Road. He was pulled over by the Getty gas station and reportedly performed poorly on field sobriety tests. Back at police headquarters, on the advice of his attorney, Edward Burke Jr., he did not submit to a chemical test. Mr. Beckman was held overnight and arraigned Saturday on a misdemeanor charge of charge of driving while intoxicated.

In East Hampton Town, the number of arrests of all types are down this year from last. From Jan. 1 to Nov. 3, 2013, there were 757 arrests recorded; for 2014, the number is 623, a decrease of almost 18 percent.

The number of event calls, however, is up, from 15,962 last year to 16,807 so far this year, an increase of 5 percent. Michael D. Sarlo, the department’s chief, reflected on the diverging numbers in an email yesterday. With officers pressed by the increasing volume of calls, the time to do the kind of police work that results in arrests, such as on D.W.I. charges, can decrease, he said.

There are other factors as well. “We had four new detectives promoted,” he said, “replacing retirees and [other] promotions. Those promoted were four of our most productive patrol officers. They are replaced, in a staggered hiring plan, by rookies, who must field-train and ride in a double car for 160 hours.”

Chief Sarlo also noted that the department had lost one officer to budget cuts.