Remember when teachers and parents told you to inspect your Halloween candy before eating it, lest you be victimized by the neighborhood nut case who put screws in your Snickers?
They only said that because they wanted you to be safe, right?
Well, the Madison Police Department also wants you to be safe this Halloween, and patrol officers will be out in strength to help accomplish that goal.
'We'll obviously staff up some to begin with and take it from that point,' said Madison Police Department Capt. George Silverwood, who added that it is important for students to take care of each other, especially if someone seems to be out of control. 'The best thing is if someone looks out for them.'
An estimated 40,000 people attended Halloween festivities on State Street last year, and police expect even more this year because of the convergence of Homecoming and Halloween, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
To deal with the crowds, there will be 'many more cops working Friday, Saturday night than there were a year ago,' Verveer said.
In addition, the end of daylight-saving time will push bar time back one hour, and numerous visitors from Michigan State are expected to invade Madison for Saturday's football games.
'These ... factors have had police planning for this event for quite some time,' Verveer said.
One way students can make this Halloween safe is by choosing costumes that are not likely to scare people, particularly following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the recent anthrax scares on the East Coast, Silverwood said. For example, he discouraged students from wearing costumes that would include replica guns.
'I think if people think about that they'll understand,' he said.
This year's Halloween celebrations will also mark the debut of the Police Department's new special events squad and new crowd control equipment purchased last spring. Silverwood said the new equipment would be ready on standby this weekend.
'Our hope is that you'll never see it,' he said. 'We've had crowd control equipment on standby for years for many events.'
