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MPD prepares for strict enforcment
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by Darryl Schnell
Friday, September 30, 2005
In an effort to keep people aware of the severity of the punishments planned for out-of-control partiers on Halloween, the City of Madison Police Department highlighted the amount of fines that will accompany various citations on Halloween in a release.
MPD Central District Capt. Mary Schauf said at a Halloween Planning Group meeting that officers on State Street would enforce the law strictly and would not be afraid to issue tickets or arrest people if necessary.
"Students should know that if they're breaking the law, they will be punished," Schauf said.
Schauf said enforcement will be stern, especially at the beginning of the night. Enforcement on State Street will only relinquish if crowd activity becomes chaotic or dangerous.
"At the beginning of the night, law enforcement will be strict — our officers will come out enforcing. We will definitely take a hard-line approach," Schauf said. "We will only change our stance if our priorities switch to crowd management, rather than law enforcement."
But Schauf was clear that the attitude of officers would be cordial unless crowd activity forces them to put on their riot gear.
"In past years, you'd often see partiers taking pictures with our officers and things like that," Schauf said. "The thing students and partiers have to understand is that once the helmets come on, it's time to stop joking around."
MPD Chief Noble Wray said at a Halloween Planning Group meeting that keeping the crowds on State Street moving would enable MPD officers to keep an eye out for potential citations.
"Putting in place a managed density plan allows our officers to access law enforcement plans sooner and more efficiently," Wray said.
According to the MPD 2004 Halloween After Action Report, officers arrested 578 people for 801 offenses at last year's celebration.
Fines for citations at this year's Halloween celebration have been increased, in some cases tripled, and all violators will be removed from State Street and processed by the MPD, which usually takes several hours, according to the MPD release.
Fines for this year's celebration are as follows (MPD Release):
— Open Container of Alcohol = $291
— Glass ban violation = $291
— Underage drinking = $166 (2nd offense = $291)
— Fake ID = $416
— Underage consumption or possession in a licensed premises = $353.50
— Procuring or furnishing alcohol to an underage person = $350
— Disorderly conduct = $416
— Dispensing alcohol without a permit $666
