While most of us are enjoying the early warm weather this spring, West District personnel have been busy. During the first three months of the year, Madison Police officers have handled more than 10,800 incidents in the West District, and average of more than 118 a day.
MedDrop Box
The West District station now has a MedDrop box available in the lobby. The MedDrop box is an easy way to safely dispose of leftover and expired medications (both prescription and over-the-counter). The box is available during normal business hours. For more details on what is and is not appropriate for the box, please visit the Safe Communities website: http://www.safercommunity.net/MedDrop/index.htm
MPD Awards Ceremony
The MPD awards ceremony (held on May 7) is an annual event held to recognize some of the good work that MPD employees are doing every day. Awards this year include a number of West District personnel, as well as a number of West District citizens who have assisted MPD in the last year.
Southwest Safety Initiative
The 2012 MPD budget includes funding for a Southwest Safety Initiative. This funding will allow for additional police presence and problem solving efforts in several West District areas: Park Edge/Park Ridge; Theresa/Hammersly/Bettys; Balsam/Russett and Allied Drive. The funds will be used to employ a variety of strategies to address citizen concerns in these areas.
Residential Burglaries
This spring has seen an increase in residential burglaries in the West District. Please try to take some simple steps to reduce the likelihood that your residence will be targeted by burglar, like keeping doors & windows locked, leaving lights on when you're gone, and having the exterior of your residence well-illuminated. Also, get to know your neighbors, so you'll know what kind of behavior/activity is suspicious. Report unusual behavior to police.
2013 Budget Process
The community budget conversations wrapped up on May 2, but you can still participate in the budget process for next year. Contact your alder and let them know what you think the City's budgeting priorities should be for next year, or take the City's budget survey: http://www.cityofmadison.com/budgetprocess
Traffic Safety
Many citizen complaints received by the West District involve speeding or other traffic issues. Traffic safety remains a priority for West District personnel. And while officers do focus significant efforts on traffic enforcement, we also utilize a problem solving approach when looking at specific traffic safety issues. For example, sometimes a simple physical change to an intersection (changing signage or traffic light sequence) can have a much greater impact on drivers' behavior than enforcement efforts. Madison Police officers issued 6,751 citations in the first three months of 2012.