About 100 chronically drunken and disorderly individuals are the main cause of problems in Downtown Madison, and they cost the community hundreds of thousands of dollars in public safety resources annually, according to a new study by the Madison Police Department and United Way of Dane County.
Working with social service agencies, police and a UW-Madison Law School class, Balles compiled reports on people who repeatedly turned up in police reports about incidents Downtown — from disorderly conduct and public intoxication to assault and robbery — and cross-checked them with those who passed through homeless shelter services, the county jail, the detoxification center and other programs.