For most of us, the time-out has gone the way of Barney and sailor suits. While I certainly exempt myself from the category of people that has managed to avoid any one of these for the past 15 or so years, the time-out is back in a big way on State Street as part of the $100,000 Downtown Safety Initiative. 

According to the linked WSJ article, Madison Police have employed the famous Mifflin/Halloween Paddy Wagon to fight nighttime malfeasance on State Street and University Avenue, detaining suspects believed to have engaged in petty crimes and misdeameanors in a setting removed from the often-raucous State Street bartime atmosphere so they can issue tickets without distraction or incident.

Here's a revealing snippet: "On the street, police said, their friends can interfere or even egg them on to say or do things that can make the situation escalate and lead to an actual arrest."

Now, while lockdown in a van is probably an inappropriate level of detention for a 19-year-old fraternity padwan caught inside Brothers, prevention of escalation at that hour on State Street is probably good for everyone, especially the bartime lawyers that jump out of their shoes at the chance to present spirited defenses of their rights and inevitably end up in the pokey themselves.

Side note: In the wake of the Kelly Nolan case, cops are apparently flagging down drunk couples and asking the guy to recite the gal's cell phone number. Who commits those to memory anymore?