DUI arrests are on track to reach a record level in the State College area this year.

Through the end of July, the department reported 261 DUI offenses, compared to last year's 159 offenses to that point.

Overall crime in the State College area has increased 6.56 percent to date through the end of July, compared to a 64.2 percent increase in DUI offenses since 2002. DUI offenses made up 4.33 percent of overall crime in 2002 through July, compared to 6.7 percent in 2003.

At the end of 2001, police had arrested 297 people on DUI charges, and the number increased to 307 in 2002, according to State College Police.

Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. David Holmes said police do not know what is causing the increase in DUI arrests, but they are sure more people are getting away than getting caught.

"On any given Saturday night in State College there are probably 124 incidents where people leave in a vehicle intoxicated," Holmes said.

Evelyn McKee, state organization representative for Mother's Against Drunk Driving, said there are many reasons behind DUI arrests.

McKee monitors weekly hearings at the Centre County Courthouse to keep track of current trends in DUI arrests in the area.

"I was in the courthouse today and there were 20 DUI cases being heard, which is sounds like a lot, but it's average," McKee said.

About one third of the cases that go through the courthouse involve a DUI, she added.

"The rate of DUI arrests seems to really be rising this year," McKee said.

Although the legal blood-alcohol content (BAC) is expected to change in October, from .10 percent to .08 percent, McKee does not see this affecting the number of DUI arrests in the future.

"A lot of people seem worried that the change in the BAC will lead to busier courtrooms full of DUI offenders," McKee said. "But of the DUI cases that I have seen, most are well over the legal limit."

State College police officers are not worried about being able to identify a DUI driver with the new legal limits put in place, said Anthony Lopinsky, communications and crime prevention officer.

"I'm confident that if our guys were able to identify them with a .10 percent BAC, then they won't have a problem pulling them over with a .08 percent," Lopinsky said.

Though most would assume that college students would make up most of the DUI incidents in the area, they are not the primary offenders, Lopinsky said.

McKee said the main offenders are alcoholics.

"We have a lot of alcoholism here in the area and they need to be helped," McKee said.

Lopinsky said that they see a lot of third and fourth time offenders that are continually being arrested for a DUI. The State College area holds the greatest number of arrests because that is where the alcohol is, he added.