In response to a series of heroin-related incidents along East Washington Avenue, the Madison Police Department plans to launch a ""high visibility, high profile enforcement campaign"" along the busy street.
Officers will focus on gas stations, fast food restaurants, grocery stores and shopping malls, which MPD crime analysts determined to be ""hot spots,"" or places where addicts often ingest heroin immediately after purchase when they are desperate for a ""fix.""
Various police teams and officers will be giving East Washington Avenue extra attention through ""a full spectrum of law enforcement strategies.""
East Washington Avenue is a high-density street where many innocent people work and live, and an even greater number commute, according to police.
""Citizens can expect to see uniformed officers, squad cars in parking lots and there will be tactics utilized that are less apparent,"" Madison Police Department Spokesperson Joel DeSpain said in a statement.
DeSpain said the heroin epidemic in Madison has resulted in people driving under the influence, overdosing and having accidents.
Police said it is not uncommon to find users not breathing when they arrive at the scene, which is usually in a public bathroom or a parked car.
DeSpain said heroin also provides the motivation for a host of crimes, including retail thefts, burglaries and thefts from cars.
Users usually resell these stolen items at resale shops, which gives them access to ""quick money"" to fuel their heroin addictions.
""The epidemic gripping Madison … is a public health crisis which cannot be solved through law enforcement actions alone,"" DeSpain said in a statement.
