October 2, 2002
by Ellen Schwartz-Madison Police Department
THE TRAFFIC REPORT:
What part of the speed limit in school zones
concept do some motorists not understand? Take for example the
motorists on S. Whitney Way near Orchard Ridge School. 5 drivers in a 15
minute time span were cited for speeds between 8 and 11 miles over the limit in
a school zone. A sixth one got away as the team ran out of stop cars.
(Large number of kids in the area as well as the Crossing Guard with cones out
on both sides of the boulevard) The 3800 block of Nakoma Rd by Thoreau
Elementary, 8 speeders. And my personal favorite, the location where
perhaps the most challenging school crossing on the west side is located, the
200 Blk of S. Gammon where students going to John Muir Elementary, Jefferson
Middle and Memorial High all cross, 26 speeders in just one morning!
Then there is the large number of speeding drivers who showed up on one of the
early morning traffic studies TEST Off. Vilas did on Prairie Rd by Huegel
School. To all of these drivers and anyone else out there who speeds
through school zones I have this to say .... save a child's life, slow down,
hang up your cell phone and pay attention to your driving!!!
Are you one of those people who think that the speed limit has been suspended on
the West Beltline Hwy? Well, it is still 55 mph, as many speeding
motorists have been reminded in the last couple of weeks. The Traffic
Enforcement Safety Team issued at least 16 citations in less than 1 1/2 hours on
September 10th and another 13 on September 16th. It wasn't like they were
splitting hairs either, the lowest speed ticketed was 72 mph (or 15 over the
limit) and the highest speed, 95 mph (or 40 mph over the limit). Some very
expensive lessons were learned. This enforcement will be continuing, so if
you are one of those who fly low instead drive smart on the beltline, and you
haven't been caught yet, your day will come.
Some other non school zone, chronic complaint areas: 7100 Watts Rd., 2600
& 2700 McKenna Blvd., 200 S. Whitney Way, 4900 Odana Rd., 800 S. Midvale
Blvd., 1000 Saybrook Rd., S. & N. Highpoint Rd., and Junction Rd.
These are just a few of the many places speeders have been ticketed in recent
weeks.
THE 2001 CITY OF MADISON CRASH REPORT:
It will come as no surprise to anyone who
has driven on the west side of the City in recent years, that there are more
cars than ever before, driving faster and obeying traffic signs and lights with
less frequency. Therefore it should not come as any surprise that in the
"High Crash Frequency Intersections," west side intersections held
some embarrassingly high rankings. Out of the top 20, 6 of those were on
the westside. The entire report produced by the Traffic Engineering
Division, can be found on the City's website.
DOES YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD LOOK LIKE A USED CAR LOT?
Do cars sit on your street for days on end
without moving? Boats? Trailers? What can you do about it?
What can the MPD do for you? Captain George Silverwood who heads up our
Traffic Bureau offers some insights, suggestions and realities for addressing
these parking problems. First and foremost is, just because
there is an ordinance making 48 hours without moving the standard for street
storage, that does not mean this is a standard the MPD Parking Enforcement Team
has the capacity to consistently enforce throughout the City. The
ordinance does provide the ability to act once a truly problematic vehicle has
been identified. Then it may up to 4 days from the time of the complaint
to the actual towing, if towing becomes necessary. The intent of the
ordinance is to enable the City to deal with cars not routinely driven which are
stored at the curb instead of off street. It is not intended to be used
against the vehicle owner who may park on the street and leave town for the
weekend. Calling to complain because your neighbor leaves their car, boat,
trailer or camper parked on the street routinely may only put the Parking
Enforcement Officers in a position of chasing a problem around the neighborhood,
not necessarily solving it. Information from the City's towing contractor
revealed that of all of the boat, camper and trailer parking complaints received
in the past two years, less than 20 have actually been towed. If
however that seldom moved vehicle poses a visibility hazard, or significantly
impedes the safe movement of traffic on your street, you should call and let us
know.
TOBACCO SALES TO MINORS:
From the desk of John Hausbeck of the Madison
Department of Public Health. Since 1995 the MDPH has led an impressive
effort to reduce tobacco use by minors through investigation into and
enforcement tobacco sales laws. (My words, not John's). John passes
on some information relevant to this subject, along with suggestions on what
each of us can do to help with this important effort. Investigations in
1995 found that 66% of vendors sold tobacco to kids. After 4 ears of
checks, tobacco sales to kids has dropped to 12%. After 2 years of being
unable to perform investigations, tobacco sales to kids increased to 31%.
In addition, national studies estimate that 75% of the tobacco kids smoke is
obtained as a result of illegal sales to minors! Now that the State has
taken action to allow MDPH to perform tobacco sales investigations, they are
asking for support from all of us to help prevent illegal sale of tobacco to
minors. How can you help? You can help by letting the managers,
clerks, and other staff at your favorite stores, restaurants, an bars know that
you are concerned about kids buying and using tobacco products and you are happy
they are not selling tobacco to kids. This will go a long way in
reinforcing the message MDPH provides during their investigations. While
there are many sources of tobacco for minors, illegal tobacco sales are a
significant source of tobacco for minors that smoke regularly. Decreasing
the number of vendors that will sell illegally to minors will have an important
impact on tobacco use by our kids. NOTE: If you know of an outlet
where such sales are being made, you can email me here at WPD and I will be
happy to forward your information to John for investigation.
UNUSUALLY HIGH NUMBER OF EXPOSURES REPORTED IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS:
A man who has been exposing himself to women as they walk in the Parkwood Neighborhood during the lunch hour, has been taken into custody. The man is responsible for several similar incidents spanning more than a year's time. The investigations came to a successful resolution in large part due to the diligent work of Wexford Neighborhood Police Officer Tim Harder, a tenacious and observant victim from one of last year's incidents, and good teamwork between some Memorial High staff who were targets of the perpetrator and Detective Dorothy Doheny.
Two women in the Sheboygan Ave. area reported a 6' tall man had exposed himself to them through their patio doors. The two incident took place about 12 hours apart. A good reminder to keep your ground level doors locked.
A 14 year old girl reported a man in a green mini van with no pants on pulled up beside her while she was roller blading in the University Hill Farms Neighborhood.
In yet another incident employees at Cub Food on
Verona Rd. reported a man with long light brown hair, operating a smaller
reddish colored truck was circling their parking lot exposing himself to
passersby.
And finally, there was the guy at West Towne observed standing next to his
maroon full sized pick up truck with his shorts around his ankles.
With the exception of the first incident, the
investigations are continuing.
A SAMPLE OF WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS THAT MAY NOT HAVE MADE
THE NEWS:
Thefts from autos continue to be a problem, with Meadowood and Orchard Ridge
Neighborhoods having a much higher incidence of such crimes than usual.
Homes on Flad, Black Oak, Hammersley Rd, Friar Lane and Freeport Rd all
reporting thefts. Cell phones and CDs are still the items most frequently
taken.
Motorists filling up their gas tanks and driving off without paying accounted
for another large portion of the reported thefts.
The number of autos reported stolen seemed to be particularly high over the past
few weeks. A few of these were loaned to acquaintances, like the KIA
rented and then loaned out. When the leasee did not get it back after
several days had passed, he was told by the man he loaned it to that he had
taken it to Chicago and when he last saw it, the tires were slashed and the
wiring torn out. In some cases the keys were left somewhere in the car,
and the doors either unlocked or defeated. One such car was taken from the
200 blk of S. Gammon Rd. when the keys were left on the dash, and it was
recovered several days later in the Elver Park area, all of the cash and
valuables in the vehicle at the time it was taken were missing when it was
recovered. Witnesses reported seeing at least 3 youths of 13-15 years of
age in possession of the car when it was abandoned. The Acura stolen from
a Whitney Way parking lot with the keys left in the console. The Pontiac
from the Schroeder Rd area with the keys in the ashtray. A staff person at
a westside middle school had car keys taken from a desk in the school, the car
stolen, and recovered in the Penn Park area when an alert Parking Enforcement
Officer observed it at the curbside. Again a witness reported seeing 3 or
4 youth of about 13 getting out of the car. Yet another stolen auto was
recovered with 3 Elver Park area youth inside, on Maywood Ave. in Middleton by
Officer Zimmerman with the assistance of Detectives Kosdorf and Miller all of
Middleton PD. The driver was taken into custody.
Several businesses in the Watts Road, Odana Road and Mineral Point Road
areas reported non residential burglaries. In almost every case, the door
was defeated either by breaking the glass out, or prying the door. Money
appeared to be the object of attack in each case. Detectives continue to
investigate.
It always pays to check all of your doors before going to bed. This is a
lesson a Gammon Road area woman learned when she forgot to check her patio door
before retiring. She awoke to find an intoxicated man from a neighboring
apartment asleep on the floor of her bedroom. Investigating officers
transported him to the detoxification center, after issuing him a citation for
trespassing.
Another trespassing situation resulted in a homeless man being arrested for
disorderly contact. The man came into a local church, was verbally abusive
and threatening to staff. When police arrived it was to find the homeless
man taking a shower. What was the big need for a shower? It seems
the man had a court appearance that day as a result of the last time he was
arrested for disorderly conduct.
Neighbor troubles. That is the cop euphemism for situations where grown
people get angry at each other, one thing leads to another and pretty soon
every time one of them walks to the mailbox or backs out of the driveway,
hurtful words or looks are exchanged. Inevitably the police get called in
to mediate. What kinds of things seem to top the list of reasons neighbors
fight with one another? Location of property lines and fences. Loud
music, loud car stereos and the reckless operation of the family van that goes
with the loud stereo. Barking dogs, unleashed dogs and owners who fail to
clean up the mess their dog leaves in the neighbor's yard. Kids' arguments
that turn into hard feelings between adults long after the kids have made up.
These are just a few of the big ones. But I ask you, do the police really
belong in the middle of these kinds of disagreements?
ALL CITY PARKS CLOSE AT 10 P.M.
This seems to be another concept a growing number
of people have trouble understanding. Officers have warned, ticketed and
physically arrested individuals for being in the City parks after closing.
Most of those who have been ticketed or arrested have been engaging in behaviors
such as drinking, partying or using drugs while in the park after hours.
Officers Streich and Amos recently cited under aged individuals in Marshall Park
for drinking and related other infractions. After closing time seems also
to be the time when damage is being done to park shelters, playgrounds and
equipment. Westmoreland, Marborough, Hoyt and Wexford are but a few of the
victims in the last few weeks.
GUNS.
Yes there seems to be more guns in this city then
in past years. Many of you may have read or heard about the three men from
the Green Bay area who came to Madison to buy drugs for resale. While they
did not get the drugs, the potential sellers did get their money and a very
large handgun. I am happy to report that persistence and good police work
resulted in the recovery of that gun from an Allied Drive apartment. While
unrelated, to this particular incident, the very same neighborhood was the
location for a very serious incident where a window was shattered, a tire
punctured and holes found in a downspout of a building as a result of the
discharge of a handgun. This incident is still under investigation.
Two more semi automatic handguns were also discovered in the console of a
vehicle being driven and occupied by three young men on the Southwest side of
the district. Officer Carren Corcoran, with the assistance of several
other officers, confiscated the weapons during a traffic stop while conducting
an investigation of a trespassing complaint. The men all had active
probation status already.
The residents in the Marlborough Park neighborhood have been plagued with
property damage related to a group of juveniles who have been shooting pellet
and or b.b. guns. Discharging a firearm of any kind within the city limits
is a violation of the Madison General Ordinances, and that includes pellet guns.
In the hands of children or irresponsible adults these kinds of weapons can pose
just as big a threat to individual safety and to police as the "real"
thing.
These are just a few of the countless things. Police Officers here in the
West District answer literally hundreds of calls for police service every week,
from armed robberies to suicides, from batteries and fights to runaway and lost
children, from the truly dramatic to the ultra unusual. The things I have
mentioned are just a small sampling of the good work done by the extremely
dedicated men and women with incredible patience and good humor.
Staffing
Here is your opportunity to give input on police staffing. The committee
of Police Department and Common Council members charged with looking at MPD
staffing for the future are holding public hearings on this subject. The
one scheduled for the West District will occur on October 17th from 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. at Memorial High School.
Fire Awareness Parade.
MFD and Dane Co. Firec Chiefs Assoc. will hold the third annual Fire Awareness Parade to kick off Fire Prevention Week 2002 on Sunday, October 6. The parade begins at 1:00 p.m. near Gilman and State Street, goes up State to the Captiol Square where a fire truck display will be held until 3:00 p.m. Sounds like a great family event!!
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