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Police geared up for Freakfest

RAY PFEIFFER/Herald photo

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Also by Lynn Heidmann:

Library Mall to add Subway, coffee shop (March 21, 2007)
Ticket dispute ends in lottery (May 3, 2007)
UW vet student earns book treat (March 9, 2007)

by Lynn Heidmann

Friday, October 27, 2006

With Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's new plan for Halloween 2006, the Madison Police Department does not know what to expect — and with the event only one day away, they are prepared for anything.

MPD Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said the evening has taken months to plan, and more than 200 officers will be on the streets both Friday and Saturday nights.

But with the new plan for a gated area and $5 entrance charge from 7:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. on State Street, Hanson said MPD will need some help. He noted MPD will receive assistance from the Madison Fire Department, University of Wisconsin Police, Capitol Police, Dane County Police and State Patrol Officers.

"We're excited about [Halloween]," Hanson said. "We've been planning, and now it's time to play ball."

MPD's Halloween Command Post is already up and ready for the weekend, Hanson said, and will play a crucial role in the city's ability to monitor the events of the evening.

According to MPD Lt. Mark Brown, there are four cameras set up overlooking State Street to monitor events, all of which are projected onto large screens on the wall of the Command Post, which is set up in the West Johnson Fire Station. Two additional large plasma televisions show a map of State Street and the exact position of each police officer in the area.

"We can zoom right in on things with the cameras," Brown said. "We put them up [Wednesday] and we will take them down Monday."

Brown also said officers in the Command Post will receive calls for all disturbances, and each computer in the room can pinpoint which available officer is closest to the situation. Response time Halloween weekend, he added, should be efficient because of Global Positioning System technology.

The MPD is certainly prepared, but Hanson said the public seems to think the event will be a smaller scale than last year based on the current ticket sales. However, Hanson added that most people will be buying their tickets the day of the event. There is even talk of setting up a booth outside Camp Randall the morning of Oct. 28 so people can buy tickets on their way to the game.

"The students will end up buying tickets — that's the bottom line," Hanson said. "Measures are being taken to make sure there are no long lines for buying tickets, so we're not worried about it."

In terms of other public concerns, Hanson added the police department is not worried about people spilling out onto Langdon Street or University Avenue because the tradition is to be on State Street Saturday night. But if it does happen, he said there is a contingency plan set up to control crowds.

According to both Hanson and Brown, the main goal for the weekend is to keep everyone safe and to have a successful ending to the event.

"Halloween is a fun night to work, and we encourage people to get their pictures taken with officers — we encourage that interaction with them," Hanson said. "But what we're really looking for is people to take some personal accountability and responsibility to keep it low key, but fun."

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Anonymous (October 27, 2006 @ 9:07am):

It's too bad that the students at UW-Madison do not have self-control anymore. When I attended UW, walking down State Street on Halloween was a tradition. Seeing the crazy and creative costumes the students and residents of Madison was the best part. It was always crazy and crowded, but never scary and violent. It is sad that it has come to this.