City officials released a list of ""habitual offenders"" Thursday in an attempt to curb the problems those frequently under the influence cause downtown.
Offenders make the list when they have at least six alcohol-related convictions within a 180-day span. The 18 offenders on the list are forbidden from purchasing alcohol at liquor and grocery stores in Madison.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said habitual offenders are a big issue downtown, especially on State Street.
""There have been so many alcohol-related incidents in a relatively short time span,"" Resnick said after a Common Council meeting. ""If you regularly go to State Street, you can probably point out who these people are.""
According to Downtown Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark Woulf, police expect the list will continue to grow in the upcoming months.
""It is much easier to get on the list than off of it,"" Woulf said. ""It will become more difficult for police to enforce the ordinance as the list grows.""
Woulf said city officials are going forward with ""what [they] know will be a work in progress for everyone.""
Madison Police Department Lieutenant David McCaw said although no one ordinance will resolve the ""sweeping drinking problem"" downtown, the ordinance will ""reduce the strain on the city's resources"" that results from sending chronic alcoholics to detox between 40 and 70 times a year on taxpayers' dime.
""It takes a large sum of money to have a chronic alcoholic issue and not take proactive measures,"" McCaw said. ""If they want to continue to drink, they can, just not here.""
