For more than a month, the Perry Police Department has been dealing with reports of improper fireworks use, and Police Chief Eric Vaughn says the numbers seemed to be up this year.

Vaughn is unsure of the reason behind the increase in unlawful discharging of fireworks in city limits, but notes that they’ve responded to around 66 different calls since June 1st. Of those, officers issued three citations, and the rest were warnings or the officers unable to locate the source. He also believes there were many more cases of people breaking the City’s ordinance that weren’t reported. Vaughn feels the restrictions set out by the Perry City Council on the use of fireworks are reasonable, so he’s frustrated that people still feel the need to break the rules. “I think it’s something, definitely, that the Council needs to discuss, you know to see what kind of calls that they’re getting about the issue. And then get some input from citizens about what they believe we should do with the next step. You know, if we should further restrict it or loosen things up, or how the City really wants us to handle things, I guess.”

Aside from the many reports of illegal use, Vaughn says there were also a few instances of fireworks-related property damage around the city, though there were no injuries reported.