Madison Police Chief Richard Williams spoke on \Safety in Downtown Madison: The Madison Police Department Perspective,"" at the Madison Club, 5 E. Wilson St., Thursday.
Williams' talk ranged over a broad field of issues, including drinking, community policing and racial profiling, as well as graffiti and other crimes.
Williams said he was concerned about the large number of alcohol-serving establishments around State Street because the police are often spread too thinly to deal safely with problems. In some instances, he said, one officer has had to respond to calls that would normally be handled by four officers.
""Nobody else is responding to these things except my officers,"" Williams said. ""We've never said we can't do it, but we wanted people to recognize the more alcohol establishments you have, the more potential you have for ... people who are doing the drinking who are not responding to calls for civility.""
Williams added that the police have ""been at odds sometimes with the university about establishments,"" including over the issuance of an alcohol license to Luther's Blues, 320 N. Randall Ave.
""I'll be meeting with [UW-Madison Chancellor] John Wiley ... to talk about collaborating rather than being on opposite ends,"" Williams said.
Community policing was another prominent issue in Williams' speech.
""The whole philosophy of community policing is that the community is the police, and the police are part of the community,"" Williams said.
He said he wanted people to see the police as partners, not adversaries.
""We've always lived by the credo we want to educate first and regulate second,"" Williams said.
In regards to racial profiling, Williams said he would wait to see what actions Lt. Gov. Scott McCallum planned to take on the completed report by the Governor's Task Force on Racial Profiling after McCallum assumes the governor's chair late next week.
""We're looking to Scott McCallum to look at things that need to be done,"" he said.
Williams described graffiti as one of the most frustrating problems he has encountered in Madison because the penalties for the crime are not severe enough to discourage it.
""We're searching ... how really to have some impact on this,"" he said. ""Law enforcement is just not it.""
Tom Beach, owner of Pizzeria Uno, 222 W. Gorham St., said he agreed graffiti is a perplexing problem, but thought it could be battled by vigilant property owners.
""What we've learned is, the quicker you clean it up the less you have of it coming back,"" Beach said. ""Awareness is probably one of the better things we can do.\
