Thousands of costume-toting partygoers prepare for Halloween celebrations on and around State Street tonight, as police and university officials remind students to exercise good judgment and remain safe during Madison’s most rowdy weekend of the year.
Last week the university released a list of safety precautions for students to take when going out, although the Madison Police Department stresses the importance of other less-obvious rules to follow tonight and through the weekend.
“Of course we remind people to go out at least in pairs and to try and monitor their alcohol consumption,” Officer Larry Kamholz said. “But the less-obvious things, especially for those who are coming down on State Street and participating in the events, are to be very careful as to what kinds of items you bring — props such as fake axes or guns that look dangerous or could be construed as some kind of weapon.”
Partiers on State Street can expect to see a scene similar to Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras, with many people, both men and women, parading around in provocative costumes. The university has stressed to these people to be especially careful.
“Some people may take advantage of being unrecognizable in a Halloween costume. Make sure that you are in an environment where you can easily get help or get away from someone who is threatening your safety in any way,” John Lucas of University Communications said in a news release.
“If you’re going to walk home, especially females, be sure you walk in groups,” Kamholz said. “That is definitely a concern to us.”
Approximately 140 police officers and 15 sheriff’s deputies will be patrolling the State Street area tonight, with an additional 30 officers on patrol through the weekend.
Kamholz said that if someone has a prohibited item on State Street, he or she most certainly will be required to take it home or to his or her vehicle.
“If people refuse to abide by these rules, we will probably hang on to those people, because they won’t be allowed on State Street,” Kamholz said. “We have to take every precaution we can to make sure everyone feels safe.”
While there is a slight increase in the number of arrests that occur this weekend, Kamholz says they are for relatively common offenses, including alcohol violations and public brawls.
“Generally, the realm of violence is very small, so we generally don’t see a lot of arrests on State Street,” Kamholz said. “People need to understand that they don’t want to be doing things that are clearly illegal or inappropriate.”
From today until Monday, the police department is removing all bike racks from State Street. In past years, several injuries have occurred from people tripping over bike racks and other items along sidewalks.
Above all, Kamholz reminds partiers to be responsible.
“We want to be down there with the crowd too,” Kamholz said. “We want to have just as much fun as everybody else down there in a safe and enjoyable environment. Most of us will be witnessing and partaking in the clean, good fun that’s down there.”
