TOLKAN, JARRELL READY TO TACKLE DRUG POLICY

Alder-elects Jessy Tolkan, District 5, and Todd Jarrell, District 8, have
set their sights on reshaping Madison's drug policy.

In 1995, Madison had 340 adult drug arrests. By 2000, that number had more
than doubled to 773 arrests.

Jarrell said he thinks incarceration is the preferred method of dealing
with drug offenders.

He believes there are better ways to fight the problem, though, and he
acknowledges they will not be easily accomplished.

"I'm hoping to develop a more sensible drug policy. A very large number of
people in the Dane County Jail, for example, are nonviolent drug offenders.
That needs to change," Jarrell said. "We need to be prioritizing things
like rehabilitation rather than incarceration."

Tolkan is concerned about the MPD and said it focuses too much on drugs and
not strongly enough on the city's safety.

"By no means am I condoning or saying the use of drugs is okay, but we know
that one of every three women on the UW-Madison campus is assaulted,"
Tolkan said. "What are the police doing to focus efforts on safety?"

Tolkan also expressed concern that the city's drug problems might stem from
lack of available entertainment alternatives and said she thought the city
"should be focusing on making opportunities for entertainment that don't
require the use of drugs or alcohol."

Tolkan said she thought the current city drug policy was ineffective
partially due to lack of student input, but said she believed all that was
about to change.

"I think when you have myself, Todd Jarrell and Mike Verveer representing
the downtown districts, you're going to have a very strong progressive
group of alders who are going to make sure student input is there every
step of the way on the issues of drugs and alcohol," she said.

Madison's drug policy was last revised in late 1999, when Ald. Judy Olson,
District 6, drafted a resolution to have the city's drug enforcement
policies re-examined.

"Despite the massive allocation of financial and human resources, drug
abuse and illegal-drug trafficking continue to exist in our community," the
resolution read.

Olson has admitted to letting the resolution sit after it was stalled in
other committees, unsure of how to take up the issue. With the resolution
at an impasse, much of the dialogue between police and city officials
regarding the city's drug policy has diminished.

The Madison Police Department goes about business as usual, and the nearest
challenge to current city policy looks to come from the newly elected
downtown alders.

Lieutenant Bill Housely of the MPD's Narcotics and Gang Task Force said
they continue to concentrate on the city's drug problem, making it a high
priority.

"Our drug problems have not let up. And it's not just one area or group.
It' s a fairly pervasive problem," he said.

Housely said a major concern for the MPD is not only the drugs themselves,
but drug-driven crimes such as robberies and domestic abuse.

Regardless of future city policy, the MPD will continue its fight against
drugs and is not out to reach any arrest quotas.

"We don't project how many arrests we're going to have, and we don't aim
for a certain number. We try to address the needs of the community, and I
think we're really working on the part of the problem that we need to be,"
Housely said.