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After a strict departure from Madison’s traditional Halloween celebrations, city officials, police and event organizers were delivered a “hat-trick” through increased attendance and decreased arrests Friday and Saturday night.

“There are a lot of people out here having a good time,” Madison police officer David Dasorf said Saturday night. “[There were] a few people being taken away, arrested, but for a crowd this size, [it was] not really too bad.”

As of 2:45 a.m., there were 77 arrests among more than 38,300 partygoers, and most arrests resulted from minor offenses.

Joel DeSpain, spokesperson for the Madison Police Department, said police monitored house parties throughout the night; several were on Mifflin Street, but most were small gatherings.

“If someone has a big house party, just the fines alone, it’s huge.” DeSpain said, adding police want people to have fun, but in a safe manner.

An estimated 38,300 tickets were sold, compared to 34,000 in 2007. University of Wisconsin Dean of Students Lori Berquam said more than 23,000 tickets were sold ahead of time.

“I think students realize they have a commitment to the community,” UW Associate Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp said. “It’s often the people from out of town who don’t care that can be a problem.”

Police said a few minor fights and alcohol violations were among the problems on Saturday night.

Due to the large volume of people at the top of State Street to see headlining band O.A.R., police decided to restrict access to the area Saturday night after it reached capacity.

“Many of the problems years ago were the mosh pits,” DeSpain said.

Police said the containment efforts were successful and the concert ended well.

Police estimated about 10,000 people filled State Street on Friday night and as of 2:41 a.m. there were 56 arrests, mostly for alcohol violations and disorderly conduct.

According to a police report, two Wisconsin State troopers suffered minor injuries while making an arrest outside a State Street tavern on Friday night, and one man fell two stories off a roof on University Avenue and was taken to a local hospital.

A few fights were also reported on Friday and Saturday nights, but police incident reports described the crowd as “overwhelmingly good natured, responsible, and well-behaved.”

Law enforcement has been boosted in the past few years to combat the rioting and dangerous situations of Halloween celebrations before Freakfest began two years ago.

“With this many people, you’re always going to have arrests,” DeSpain said. “Everyone has their own responsibilities, communicating with different strike teams and others on the street.”

According to DeSpain, the Dane County Sheriff’s Department, UW Police, Wisconsin State Capitol Police, Madison City Fire Department and 911 dispatchers constantly monitored partygoers on State Street on Friday and Saturday night.

“I think there are 17 cameras up now.” Despain said. “The camera operators are constantly moving around … looking for people starting to push, maybe a drug transaction, things like that.”

Once an issue is spotted, monitors can focus in on the location and communicate with one of the more than 200 officers on the ground.

“They’ve always had one camera, so having cameras on State Street is not unusual,” DeSpain said. “The number of cameras has increased. Some of that came through homeland security, some of that came through the mayor’s office.”

—Becky Vevea contributed to this report.