Is this the end of campus-area bar raids?

The Madison Police Department (MPD) will no longer conduct bar raids downtown after implementing a procedural change ahead of the fall semester. The announcement marks a major change in how the department approaches nightlife safety, one that officials hope will ease tensions between police, students and bar owners, an MPD officer told The Daily Cardinal.

“Shutting down bars, having cops close down the entrances and ID-ing every single person in the building — that will no longer happen,” District 8 Alder MGR Govindarajan told the Cardinal Tuesday.

Govindarajan, who represents much of campus-area, confirmed the changes after recent conversations with MPD Chief John Patterson.

“Bar checks” — unscheduled police entries into bars to check liquor license violations, overcrowding and underage drinking — have been a staple of the Madison nightlife scene. But in recent years, large-scale “raids” have increased to the point where they happened "every two weeks," according to Govindarajan. 

MPD raided The Nitty Gritty last January, issuing over 200 citations for underage drinking. Students, who asked not to be named, told the Cardinal police remained on scene for hours.

“I brought up the concern to the chief like, ‘This isn't really productive. Why are we targeting people?” Govindarajan said. “It seems like the police could be focusing on more relevant issues downtown rather than just giving citations to underage kids drinking safely at bars.”

Govindarajan, who also incentivized MPD's newly implemented underage drinking amnesty policy, said there have been no raids during the fall semester. 

MPD will rely more on discretionary enforcement at bars — if a bar is reported with many underage patrons, MPD will still respond. Officers will remain on high alert for underage drinking and may still take samples of IDs during bar checks. But full bar barricades and mass ID checks, like that at The Nitty Gritty, should not happen again.

“The chief was very willing to work with me on this issue,” Govindarajan said. “He did not discredit any of the issues, but he wanted to do his due diligence, so it took a bit of conversation and information gathering, but that's what led to the bar raids ending.”

Captain Kipp Hartman of the Central District, which includes most of Madison’s isthmus, said the decision followed discussions with city officials and business leaders. Instead of untargeted raids, MPD will focus on proactive collaboration with downtown businesses and identifying establishments who “skirt the law” regarding fake IDs before problems escalate.

“We always want to be good partners with businesses in the downtown area, and I do believe that the vast majority are doing the right thing,” Hartman told the Cardinal. “We want to keep those relationships going.”

Hartman noted that during bar checks, officers will continue to look for liquor law compliance, crowding issues and underage patrons. Bars found in violation of capacity rules or knowingly allowing underage drinkers inside will still draw enforcement. 

Fake IDs remain a central concern. Madison police and bar owners have partnered to crack down on their use, especially downtown. Officers say technology like ID scanners are increasingly necessary for establishments, because fake IDs have become harder to spot. 

The citation fine for possessing a fake ID starts at $439, and fines for underage patrons attempting to purchase alcohol begin at $376.

Hartman said officers generally aren’t looking to “stack citations” on students. 

“Our goal is usually just to provide one, but sometimes people talk themselves into needing more accountability,” he said. Most students caught are only carrying a fake ID, which officers can confirm through public and University of Wisconsin System records.

Hartman noted that officers will continue both bar checks and “line checks,” where they monitor patrons waiting outside to enter, saying officers are skilled at reading body language and other indicators that might indicate someone in line is underage. However, he emphasized that MPD’s approach is shifting from long detentions during raids to shorter, targeted enforcement. 

Hartman said if an entire line of underage people with fake IDs is found trying to enter a single bar, it signals the establishment may not be doing enough to screen at the door. 

“We’re trying to find what is a good, reasonable amount of time to get the information we need to demonstrate that a bar is allowing underage drinkers. We’ve worked with the city attorney’s office to determine exactly what they need from us, and we’ve reduced the time we hold people while we ID them,” he said.

If a bar consistently draws large groups of underage patrons, MPD may recommend fines and pursue a point system through the City Attorney’s office. Bars that accumulate too many points risk losing their liquor license through the Alcohol Licensing and Review Committee.

“If we can issue warnings to first-time offenders, we will. It’s when we start to see repeated problems at certain establishments that we move to stronger enforcement actions,” Hartman said.

MPD also offers training sessions for bar staff on how to spot fake IDs, manage capacity and prevent underage drinking. Hartman said many establishments attend these voluntarily, and additional training is offered if a bar is cited for violations. The goal, he explained, is to educate and give businesses the tools to stay in compliance before stricter enforcement becomes necessary.

“A lot of times, officers aren’t looking to get the students in trouble as much as they’re looking to hold that establishment accountable for what’s happening,” Hartman said.

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