Charleston Police gave out 141 alcohol-related citations during the first weekend students were back in town. Most of the tickets issued were for public possession of alcohol and underage drinking.

Deputy Chief Bryan Baker said the number was higher than usual, but he wasn’t sure if it was higher than previous years.

Only one extra officer was patrolling the city between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. during Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Baker said.

The additional officer will remain on duty for future weekends as long as it is necessary, Baker added.

He said most of the citations were issued in areas where there is frequent pedestrian traffic.

Drinking citations increase when students come back to school and the population of Charleston almost doubles, Baker said.

Matt Hopf can be reached at 581-7942 or at mthopf@eiu.edu.