On April 19th the Special Investigations Unit will be holding it's 10th Notification for violent repeat offenders in our community. SIU has notified 99 offenders to date and will be adding 10 new participants to the program. It is a powerful meeting to watch and is open to the public. You will see law enforcement agency heads and community members uniting in a common message telling the offenders that the "The violence must stop." The participants were selected in a blind selection process based on only their criminal histories. Once selected, participants must attend formal notification meeting where they will meet with community support partners, mentors, and Local, State and Federal Law Enforcement. This is an opportunity for those who want to succeed and a warning to those who want to keep committing acts of violence. This is MPD partnership with the Department of Corrections and the Community has the common goal to stop violence and prevent new victims.
Since inception in 2011, SIU has worked with DOC, Community Service Providers such as Nehemiah, Voices Beyond Bars, Madison Urban Ministry, City of Madison Community Development, and United Way among others to offer support and assistance to those who have been involved in repeated acts of violence in the past to help them stay away from trouble.
Our goal is to have no new victims. Prior to being notified, the 99 participants in our program committed crimes against 880 separate individual victims in our community. Four years into the program, we have had only 25 new victims. We have had many participants succeed in making great change in their lives such as finding stable housing, getting custody of children and being involved in their children's lives, and finding good jobs.
SIU Violent Offender Notification:
Tues. April 19 at 6pm at the United Way at 2059 Atwood Av.