All,
The below was crafted by the Violent Crime Unit (VCU) detectives Lisa Fahrenbrook and Dan Nale; Lisa and Dan are the VCU liasions to the Central District. VCU is an experienced and strong team dedicated to investigating significant crimes of violence; they are a great resource for the Central District (and the rest of the City!).
CENTRAL DISTRICT BLOTTER
VIOLENT CRIME UNIT
Greetings, Central District!
The MPD Violent Crime Unit (VCU) expanded in early 2017 and now has 12 detectives with 2 detective sergeants. Every police district has VCU liaisons who work and share information with that district. Your Central District liaison detectives are Dan Nale (AM shift) and Lisa Fahrenbruch (PM shift).
The VCU investigates homicides, attempted homicides, violent pattern felonies, kidnapping, home invasions, and the now seemingly ubiquitous shots fired complaints. Regarding shots fired, patrol does a fantastic job responding on the front end, but VCU is now responsible for follow up and additional investigative work.
What happens on our end with all these shots fired calls for service? In addition to traditional investigative avenues, the shell casings are collected and submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab for analysis and entry into the NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistic Information Network) database. The NIBIN database helps to link shootings together both locally and regionally. Since the inception of VCU, there have been some connections made through NIBIN – once linking a Madison case with one in Chicago! The amount of information that can be collected during this behind the scenes period of shots fired cases can be astonishing, with pages of information accumulating in the thousands.
VCU works closely with the Dane County District Attorney's Office. When a major case lands on our collective doorstep, an ADA will get plugged in as soon as possible and the VCU team works with the DA to try to achieve the best possible outcome. It is also not unusual for VCU to partner with other agencies--including at the State and Federal level--as deemed necessary for a particular case/incident(s).
One recent example of VCU's work in the Central District involved the homicide which occurred earlier this year on N Butler St. Working in concert with the district personnel, VCU was able to bring resources, expertise, and a focused skill-set which resulted in a very comprehensive and effective investigation and outcome. An identification and apprehension of the suspect in this heinous incident was swiftly achieved.
Detective Lisa Fahrenbruch and
Detective Dan Nale