While sitting in line for hockey tickets outside the Kohl Center this week, it was impossible not to overhear students angry about being ticketed for violating state laws and make comments like, “Don’t the police have anything better to do? Like fight crime rather than ticket us for using blankets?”
This type of uninformed blather is part of a bigger trend on this campus of blaming police officers on the grounds of doing their job and carrying out instructions handed down from their superiors.
Reading the pages of campus newspapers, the sentiment is clear: “We want to have our fun, and the police should be out worrying about the influx of crime downtown, not interfering with innocuous activity on the part of students.” Such a naíve position is unrealistic and shows a lack of understanding and respect for law enforcement and the legal system in general.
Regardless of how small or insignificant an infraction seems, the law was written for a reason. Regardless of what that justification for the law is, or how distasteful students find the law to be, it is the obligation of the police department to enforce this law. The venue for proposing change is in the legislature or court system, not by condemning police for doing their job.
Many make the case that, with violence rising in Madison, police should not be wasting their time ticketing students for using blankets at the Kohl Center. The big hole in this argument is that while the assaults have been occurring within the city of Madison, the jurisdiction of the Madison Police Department, it is the University Police Department, whose jurisdiction is relegated to campus facilities and neighboring streets, that is ticketing students in front of the Kohl Center. Even if the UWPD officers were not checking the ticket line, they wouldn’t be doing anything to curb the violence that is occurring within the authority of the MPD.
Another recently expressed opinion is Madison Police officers spending time checking drinking law compliance at local bars has some sort of connection with the increased violence. While many students may find police looking for underage drinkers in bars aggravating, it is a necessary part of the responsibility of the police department. Whatever American city you go to school in, the drinking age is 21, and the police department must do what they can to enforce it. The justifications for having 21 as the drinking age are outside the scope of this column and similarly are not at the realistic discretion of any decision makers in Madison. Until the drinking age changes at the top, the police must enforce it, even if that means making it difficult for those under 21 to have fun in an illegal way.
Assuming the MPD did decide to stop enforcing underage drinking, it is unlikely that the freed-up personnel would make any substantial dent in downtown crime. The couple of additional squad cars roaming the streets would not create an omniscient police presence that would immediately be able to identify and apprehend suspects in crimes that happen on quiet side streets and dark allies. The greatest likelihood is that the cessation of enforcing underage drinking would lead to uncontrolled drinking by underclassmen and ultimately more violence. The police department tries to enforce the most laws they can, keeping residents as safe as possible, with the limited resources afforded to complete these tasks.
The way not to get a citation for camping on state property is not to camp on state property. The way not to get ejected from a football game is not to break any rules. The way not to have your fun interfered with by the police is to keep your fun inside the law. While attending college in Madison, the decision may not always seem this cut and dry. It’s hard to be the odd man out when all your friends are drinking, just because your 21st birthday hasn’t arrived yet. What’s important to remember is that if you decide to break the law in order to have fun and you get caught, it’s your fault, not that of the arresting officer.
In order for UW students to have the safest college experience possible, it’s important to understand the role of the police department. Without police officers putting their lives on the line every day, we would not enjoy the comforts that we have come to expect in our lives. It is essential that students respect the police officers whom students interact with daily. When these officers act, they are only enforcing policy passed down from elected and appointed officials. Getting angry with police for doing their job does nothing to solve any of the grievances raised to improve student/police relations.
Adam Smith ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science and economics.
