The number of reported sex assaults in the Penn patrol zone went up from 10 in 2006 to 17 in 2007, and alcohol consumption could be partly responsible for this rise.
It's not clear how many of these offenses were alcohol-related, but experts say alcohol and sexual assaults are often linked.
Steven Belenko, professor of Criminal Justice at Temple University, said that alcohol-related incidents, not including DUIs, tend to be violent crimes, such as assaults and sex crimes.
"No one really knows how alcohol impacts crime, but it does reduce self control and inhibition," he said. The places where alcohol is typically consumed tend to be "social settings that are conducive to fighting," he added.
In the case of sexual assaults, alcohol consumption can involve both the assaulter and the victim, Belenko said.
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