The Madison Police Department will increase its presence downtown on weekends in the spring and summer months in an effort to curb disruptive behavior, MPD Central District Captain Carl Gloede said in a release Thursday.
The increase for the downtown and State Street areas will include police officers on bicycles and horses.
“This will be a high-visibility policing effort where officers will look to engage the public in conversation while enforcing relevant ordinances to manage behavior,” Gloede said in the release.
Additionally, Gloede said MPD has worked with community and commercial groups on State Street, such as Madison’s Central Business Improvement District, on the Collective Community Ban project aimed at stopping repeat offenders of crimes, such as battery or disorderly conduct, from entering State Street businesses.
In other efforts to increase safety downtown, the release said the city has installed additional lighting and cameras as well as increased police staffing for times when police receive the most calls for service, according to the release.
