Calls for service down, arrests up at Paradiso Festival

QUINCY — Overall arrests were up at the Paradiso Festival at the Gorge Ampitheatre over the weekend, but fewer people required medical treatment and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office received less calls for service during the popular electronic dance musical festival.

The concert, which started on Friday and ended on Saturday, annually draws thousands of attendees to the Gorge, with high temperatures often times playing a role in a number of hospitalizations and deputies making numerous of drug-related arrests.

The sheriff’s office credits the following areas for making a difference at this year’s festival:

• A more “proactive” strategy, which included drug task force members making arrests on-site for the major drug related offenses.

• Concert-goers paying close attention to safety, watching out for one another and notifying deputies if anything seemed suspicious.

• “Enhanced” planning and coordination between the GCSO, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Live Nation, Crowd Management Services (CMS), American Medical Response (AMR), Crowd RX, promoter staff and Gorge/Live Nation staff.

• Temperatures in the 70s and low 80s.

The sheriff’s office reports receiving 58 calls for service and booking 29 people into the Grant County Jail over the course of the festival. Twenty-two of the arrests were drug-related, with other crimes including DUI, assault, vehicle prowl, theft, trespassing, domestic violence and warrants.

In 2015 the sheriff’s office received 74 calls for service and 10 people were booked into jail,

In 2014, 76 calls for service were received and 23 people were booked in jail. In 2013, 87 calls for service were taken and 23 people were booked in jail.

AMR transported 12 people to hospitals, including nine to Quincy Valley Medical Center, which is down from the 44 people that were transported to hospitals in 2015.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.