In anticipation of the upcoming Halloween weekend, the Madison Police Department is stressing personal responsibility and expects UW-Madison students to set the tone for a safe evening, according to Police Chief Noble Wray.
\It is really up to those that are attending this event to make sure it is a safe event,"" he said during a press conference Monday with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Special Assistant to the Chancellor Lamarr Billups and Associated Students of Madison Halloween Committee Chair Kristina Mueller.
Wray outlined the ways the city plans to handle the downtown weekend celebration that has ended riotously the past two years. University Inn, 441 N. Frances St., will be closed the entire weekend and will become a control center for police. In addition, police will have increased visibility throughout the city; police on State Street will have small lights on their uniforms.
""We want to plant the seed that we're everywhere,"" he said, adding those arrested this weekend will be immediately taken from the State Street area to an arrest processing center.
Although the city has increased fines for disorderly conduct and drinking-related violations, Wray said he wants people to know police will not intentionally try to increase the number of citations handed out.
""If we end up not having to cite a whole lot of people, that's fine. We view that as a success,"" he said.
Additionally, UW System and out-of-state students will be held accountable for their behavior from their respective universities as well as the police. Billups said if UW-Madison students engage in criminal behavior, the university will review their cases and possibly issue suspensions or expulsions. This goes for UW System schools and the University of Minnesota, as well, he said.
Cieslewicz said he is confident the plans the city has in place will be effective. He said he wished he could have worked with downtown bars to stagger bar times Friday and Saturday, but said state law prohibits the city from doing so.
Both he and Wray said it is imperative for UW-Madison students and Madison residents to set the tone for the behavior of the rest in attendance.
""It's all our reputations on the line,"" Wray said.
