The Charleston Police Department arrested 33 students for criminal charges after responding to a report Friday that underage students were purchasing alcohol at a party on 1402 Third St.

Police Chief Bryan Baker said the situation would have normally resulted in issuing tickets for violating various city ordinances. He said residents at the property were unwilling to cooperate with police, which escalated the situation.

The charges include minor consumption of alcohol, minor possession of alcohol, providing alcohol to minors, breach of peace and false identification.

“This is rare to have to go to this extreme,” Baker said.

He said the residents only communicated with police officers through the closed front door, adding the residents expressed negative comments toward the officers.

The situation led the officers to obtaining a search warrant for the property before issuing charges.

If found guilty, the students could face a fine, have the charge be placed on their permanent records and have their licenses revoked.

The students who were charged will likely go to court in a month, Baker said.

He said he hopes CPD will not have to resort to that kind of action in the future.

“We are very, very serious about wanting to make it a peaceful place out there,” he said.

Baker said CPD has issued more than 500 alcohol-related citations since the beginning of the school year.

CPD issued 156 citations from Aug. 20 to Aug. 22 – the weekend before school started.

CPD has had more patrols during the weekend since the beginning of the semester. The extra patrols are expected to last until the first week of October.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.