With a strict zero-tolerance policy, the Madison Police Department cracked down this past weekend on disorderly behavior in the downtown area.
According to the MPD, 157 people were arrested from Thursday night through Sunday morning both in the immediate downtown area and in nearby off-campus housing. However, fewer than 50 were UW students.
MPD Lt. Joe Balles emphasized that a majority of the citations and arrests involved other people in the area.
It's not just UW students who we're trying to get,"" Balles said. ""The downtown entertainment area is much more lively with students, but they're not the only ones down there.""
According to Balles, the MPD had many cases of disorderly behavior, including open intoxication and public urination downtown this past weekend. He said 25 arrests were made on these violations alone between the hours of 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. over the whole weekend.
""We wanted to have a very visible 'blue' presence downtown, and I hope that everybody had a chance to see all the officers we had on the street during those hours,"" Balles said.
In addition, Thursday and Friday night, the MPD broke up eight parties at downtown off-campus houses. Some of those parties had close to 100 underage drinkers at them. The MPD issued 72 citations to about 20 individuals as a result. Balles said the MPD began using arrest vans and plans to continue this every Friday and Saturday night downtown.
Balles said the MPD's effectiveness has been due, in large part, to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's recent $100,000 Downtown Safety Initiative.
""The first 100 arrests were all a result of the downtown initiative. Because of it, you can plan on seeing plenty of MPD blue downtown on the weekend nights,"" Balles said.
Cieslewicz even rode with MPD officers Saturday, watching them patrol State Street and other areas throughout the central district.
""He always finds it helpful to get out and see and experience what the officers in the field are seeing and experiencing first hand,"" said Cieslewicz spokesperson George Twigg.
Twigg said the Downtown Safety Initiative has been one of the mayor's most successful programs and will be a priority for the new 2008 budget in early October.
""The police chief and the mayor talk regularly and will be working on the 2008 budget for the entire city,"" Twigg said. ""They'll be looking at trends in terms of arrests in certain areas and where they can apply the best resources.""
Like Balles, MPD Capt. Mary Schauf said the Downtown Safety Initiative funding was especially helpful this past weekend.
""The downtown safety money has been huge because it allowed us to staff up for this past weekend '¦ we wouldn't have been able to be as proactive as we were [without the money],"" she said.
