MADISON, Wis. — With just a few more days until the big celebrations to ring in the new year, there have been extra efforts put in place throughout downtown Madison to keep people safe.
“We know everyone likes to go out and have fun on New Year’s Eve,” said Stephanie Drescher, the Executive Captain of Operations at the Madison Police Department.
Drescher says about 30 extra officers will come in to cover calls for service at night.
“We know historically there’s been increased calls for service, disturbances, specifically in our downtown entertainment area,” said Drescher. “So, we’ve increased our staffing over New Year’s.”
Drescher explained some of the situations police typically respond to on the holiday.
“We see a lot of alcohol-related incidents,” said Drescher. “We really want to let people know to be people to be safe, as safe as they can, (and) call us if they’re in a place that they don’t feel safe. Especially when it comes to operating your motor vehicle, if you’ve had too much to drink, we really encourage people to make the smart decision to either have a sober driver or call an Uber, or if you really need you can call us and we’ll get you home safe.”
Drescher says the department is communicating with bars in the area to keep people safe on the holiday.
“We know and they know that they’re going to be busy,” said Drescher. “We’re telling them to use the best business practices they can to keep people safe and still facilitate having a fun time over the new year.”
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One of those businesses expecting extra crowds for the holiday is Tipsy Cow. General Manager Katherine Kehoe spoke to News 3 Now about what the holiday usually brings to the business.
“We’re usually pretty busy on New Year’s Eve,” said Kehoe. “It’s one of the biggest bar nights of the year.”
Kehoe says Tipsy Cow has some ways it’s making sure its customers have access to first responders if they need them on the holiday.
“We do have, posted behind the bar, numbers for local law enforcement, non-emergency numbers, and emergency numbers,” said Kehoe.
It’s the goal of everyone involved to make sure everyone can ring in 2023 as safely as possible.
“Prepare for crowds and others; otherwise, keep your wits about you, behave yourself, but otherwise have a good time,” said Kehoe.
“We just want everyone to stay safe,” said Drescher.
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