Last Friday, a young woman was attacked on the 500 block of North Henry Street while walking home early in the morning. Although some are inclined to blame the victim (though Rosemary Lee is certainly not one of them), and others point fingers toward the police, I know exactly who is at fault for this crime. He is a man between 30 and 40 years old, weighing between 180 and 190 pounds.

But then again, why listen to me? There are always those who will lay blame where it doesn’t belong. I can’t fault them; it certainly simplifies things if all we need is more police or less drunk people on the street but, unfortunately, the matter is not that straightforward.

Mark Woulf, a candidate for the District 8 aldermanic seat vacated by Eli Judge, held a news conference Sunday to address the incident. There, and in subsequent correspondence, he denounced bar raids conducted by Madison police as irresponsible ventures that neglect the more important issues of safety on Madison streets, saying, “The police are more concerned with busting underage drinkers at bars and house parties than they are with keeping their citizens safe.”

Though such an allegation is — I hope — wrong, he may be onto something. While police Capt. Mary Schauf cites the recent homicides at/around the Plaza and Crave as reason to step up police presence at bars, her logic is flawed. The two recent homicides may justify increased policing of bars, but they do not explain why bar raids have been a part of police policy since long before last fall.

Woulf offered some interesting alternatives to such police crackdowns in an e-mail to The Badger Herald, including allowing more 18-to-20-year-olds into bars. He proposes making it easier for establishment to get “entertainment licenses” from the city. Though the measure will doubtless encounter strong opposition, it is at least a genuine effort to address a grievance many students hold against the city.

Woulf’s reasoned reaction ends there, however. In his news conference he went further and attacked the bar raids for diverting officers that could have prevented the mugging on North Henry asking, “What did law enforcement accomplish on Thursday night? Busting underage drinkers in bars and house parties or is it safety?”

According to Schauf, the three (not six, mind you) officers on duty from the Community Task Force Thursday night performed a variety of tasks — however, busting house parties was not one of them. And I won’t waste your time by explaining how curtailing underage drinking falls within the job description of police.

He then conducts an exercise in the obvious by stating, “It is less safe when there is no law enforcement on street.” Well, duh.

I am sure Woulf meant this comment as hyperbole, but why even say that? There were a total of nine officers on patrol (read: not raiding bars) in downtown Madison Thursday night/Friday morning. Actually, one was near the scene and responded to the 911 call promptly.

Does anybody really believe that three officers were still writing tickets when the victim was attacked? In fact, the officers were clocked out by 3:00 a.m., so when the call came in at 3:05, there would have been little they could have done while commuting home.

Woulf must recognize this event does not constitute a catastrophic failure of our public safety system. The 911 call was handled properly, the right people were dispatched, and the officer arrived on the scene quickly. I am not sure what more Woulf — or the victim for that matter — could ask from their law enforcement officials. In solely evaluating the police response, there was not much else the system could have reasonably done to prevent the young woman from being attacked.

Using this event as a platform to launch a campaign for reformation of bar policy would be a tragic mistake. By trying to justify a call to adjust bar rules or even to simply begin a dialogue on the subject with such an accusatory and — frankly — weak argument, Woulf runs the risk of sinking his own ship before it even sets sail. Which is a shame, because its cargo might be worth something.

Joe Labuz ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in biomedical engineering.