Drug arrests were up in Decorah during 2013-2014

The Decorah Police Department will present Decorah City Council members the department's 2013 annual report on Monday night.

That report is highlighted by an increase in drug enforcement activity from July 1st, 2013 through June 30th, 2014.  Decorah Police say they made a total of 85 narcotics arrests this fiscal year--65 misdemeanors and 20 felonies.  By contrast, the same period in 2012-2013 saw 35 misdemeanor arrests and 14 felony arrests--a total of 51 arrests.

Decorah Police spent 251 hours of overtime working on drug cases.  That cost the City of Decorah $8,259.

While marijuana is the most abused illicit drug in Iowa today, the use of methamphetamine has grown.  Police say in 2012 there was a 25 percent increase in meth lab seizures in the Northeast Iowa Drug Task Force area.