Police Control
Between 1998 and 2002, attendance ranged from several hundred to a couple thousand. In 2002, however, an unexpected 20,000 people showed up for the event. That same year, a riot during Madison's Halloween festivities prompted police to begin systematically clamping down on the Mifflin event. The city has consistently refused proposals by students to close the street and revive the block party under student control. A Madison police lieutenant was quoted as saying, "Quite frankly, we wish this event would go away." Since 2002, there have been an increased number of arrests and a decrease in attendance. The majority of arrests are for alcohol-related incidents.
Police have dealt with the event by heavily enforcing a number of ordinances. This has included the banning of glass containers on Mifflin, the limiting of the number of kegs that a house party can have, and the creation of a processing center for dealing with those arrested. Police are also notorious for handing out open container citations and targeting especially loud and raucous house parties. In 2004, one house received $25,000 in fines for "selling alcohol without a permit." In 2005, police arrested 225 people and issued 317 citations. The cost to the city was $100,600 and they received $85,000 in fines.
Read more about this topic: Mifflin Street Block Party
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