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The Pullman Fighting Ordinance, which was put into place in April 2008, is getting mixed opinions about its impact on the community.

In order to measure the impact of the ordinance the Pullman Police Department look at the reports of assault, citizen disputes, and disorderly conduct, according to the 2008 annual report. The Pullman Police Department has five months of monthly activity statistics that are accurately reported for 2009. So far the number of reported assaults is only about 19 percent of the total assaults in 2008. Since nearly half of the year has passed this shows a possible drop because of the ordinance.

The number of citizen disputes may also drop in 2009. As shown in the reports the number of reported citizen disputes for 2009 is only about 20 percent of the total amount of reports of the previous year.

There may be a slight increase in the number of disorderly conduct reports since there is about half as many reports as 2008 in only five months of recordings, according to the reports.

Since all of these factors are used to measure the impact of the ordinance and the rest of the statistics for 2009 are unknown it is unclear if the there has been a change.

The Fighting Ordinance was put into place because of an increasing number of violent behavior reports, according to the Pullman Police Department. The annual report for 2008 shows the number of assaults had steadily increased since 2000. The report states that the number of assaults nearly doubled between 2007 and 2008 alone, with 134 assaults in 2007 and 254 assaults in 2008. The ordinance states that someone who causes, invokes, or engages in violent behavior will be punished with a fine no less than $250 for first-time offenders and no less than $500 for second-time offenders.

Don Heroff, a Pullman police senior patrol officer, said the intent of the ordinance was to give Pullman police officers a non-criminal option for controlling violent behavior. One classic example of when the ordinance would be applied is when there is a physical altercation and neither parties claim to be the victim or want to press charges, he said. Heroff said the ordinance enforces consequences for their actions.

But the ordinance has had little impact on the number of reports, Heroff said. That’s because most of the people who are reported for violent behavior are drunk and aren’t thinking clearly, he said.

“I think if there are boys, pretty girls, and alcohol, there is going to be problems,” Heroff said.

Even with no change in the number of reports, Heroff said while there is no scientific measurement, he has seen a slight change in the public’s overall behavior. He also said he thinks there are less secondary offenses because of the ordinance.

Kevin Graham, a 23-year-old WSU economics major, said he has seen less fighting than in previous years but that the change could not be credited just to the ordinance.

Valhalla bouncer Ross Larson said he has not observed a change in the public’s behavior. The majority of the problems that arise involve alcohol, Larson said. He said this causes people to ignore the ordinance. Larson also said that if someone is angry enough to cause physical violence the ordinance won’t stop them.

Larson said he does not think that violence is an issue for Pullman. He said every town has its own problems, but Pullman just has a large population of young people.

Heroff strongly disagrees. Violence is definitely an issue in Pullman, he said.

“Anytime someone is assaulted it is a big deal and shouldn’t be taken lightly,” Heroff said.

One punch can lead to serious injuries, he said.

Even though Larson said that violence isn’t an issue for Pullman he still thinks the ordinance is a good thing. Larson said it will help prevent second-time offenders because the consequences for their actions are significantly higher.

Graham agreed, the fighting ordinance is a good law but probably isn’t making a dramatic impact on the community.

“I’m not a big fighter but if I was going to fight I’d think twice,” Graham said.

Heroff said the ordinance is not the answer to preventing violent behavior.

“I think it’s an answer, not the answer,” Heroff said.