Members of the Madison Police Department met with State Street bar and restaurant owners at the Nitty Gritty, 223 N. Frances St., Tuesday to relate their overall safety plan for this year's Halloween celebration.
The representatives, including Captain Luis Yudice, Lt. Mary Schauf and Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, described new preventative and disciplinary measures they plan to enact both Friday and Saturday of Halloween weekend. Among these included doubling the number of officers in the downtown area, employing mounted police and stadium lights and stationing police at University Inn, 441 N. Frances St., for rapid deployment, given last year's events around that vicinity.
Moreover, Yudice said a basement in the City-County Building, 211 S. Carroll St., will be converted into a holding room for those arrested, with a $300 citation that must be paid prior to bail.
The committee's Associated Students of Madison Chair Kristina Mueller, voiced her support for this system. \I think the police have a really good plan,"" she said. ""I think they have the most efficient system possible.""
Throughout the meeting, the representatives stressed that cooperation between State Street bar and restaurant owners and themselves was crucial for their plan's success. Schauf urged these owners to monitor their front entrances to prevent lines of customers from congesting the street, as well as making certain they are not carrying any potentially hazardous restaurant glasses. Also, they requested that restaurants continue to serve food past bar time to jointly counteract the effects of alcohol and prevent more people from reentering State Street, with Verveer calling this a ""community service.""
Verveer also acknowledged university efforts to keep Halloween as safe as possible, noting the university's contribution of $15,000 to ASM to buy food from State Street businesses, which will then be served at Library Mall Saturday night. Ideally, this will greatly aid the police in reducing State Street congestion and restoring order to the area.
Regarding the closing of State Street both Friday and Saturday night, Captain Yudice stated that stadium lights will be activated at 3 a.m. as a warning for revelers to clear out, in addition to patrolling the mounted police across State Street for direct supervision.
All three representatives maintained that they want people to enjoy themselves as long as safety is remembered. The bar and restaurant owners present responded positively to their plan, stating that the police did a ""good job"" last year despite the rioting. All anticipated that these unprecedented measures would ensure a safer Halloween than seen in recent years.
