Community Policing Madison Police Style
At MPD we start with a simple proposition—the police cannot go it alone. We cannot begin to address the complex issues affecting our quality of life without assistance. Assistance in the form of the help and collaboration from many diverse groups who work in and for the community, as well as enlisting the support of all of our community members!
There are three critical elements that we embrace to demonstrate our commitment to community policing:
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Foster trust by providing quality service(s) for all. —which allows us to be better able...
“...to identify problems that have the potential for becoming more serious for individuals, the police or the government...”
- Engage constituents to build partnerships that facilitate cooperation and collaboration.
- Dedicate efforts to problem oriented-policing (problem-solving) as a service model.
Problem
- Two or more related incidents that cause harm.
- Combined with a community expectation that police will address the issue.
Problem-Solving
- Identify problems.
- Analyze the situation.
- Act on the analysis in a humane, fair and equitable manner.
- Did it work?
Success!
- Reduce the harms, intensity, volume, or eliminate the problem entirely.
- Shared ownership of the issue.
When it comes to the problem-oriented approach to policing there is no “one-size-fits-all-cookie-cutter-approach.” What you will find are touchstones that focus on the things we all do in our everyday experiences in solving problems. Officers are not constrained or confined to creating some sort of academic thesis that must be defended before getting started—this is our daily work. While formalism may be needed for some of our large scale problem-solving challenges, we want ALL of our employees to look around their work environment and examine how systems they see everyday can be improved.
“The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.”
In essence—community policing is a philosophy that speaks to the relationships between the police and the people served in order to achieve some important goals: prevention of crime, enhanced quality of life, and greater degrees of public trust. Community policing is really—policing of the people, jointly with the people for the achievement of our common goals.
August 25, 2024 12:26 PM
The Latino Youth Academy (LYA), sponsored by the Madison Police Department Community Outreach Unit in partnership with Amigos En Azul, Fitchburg Police Department, UW-Police, the Madison Community Policing Foundation, and other partners, concluded this year with remarkable success. LYA brought … [read more]
August 14, 2024 9:08 AM
The Madison Police Department's Community Outreach Unit, in collaboration with the Black Officers Coalition, participated in 100 Black Men of Madison "Back To School" event last week. MPD is proud to have particpated the last two years in our effort to support students in need as they prepare … [read more]
August 11, 2024 11:47 AM
Dear Madison Community Members, Thank you for attending our 2024 National Night Out (NNO) event in partnership with the Madison Police Department! Your presence made the evening a tremendous success and a wonderful celebration of community spirit. We would also like to extend a special … [read more]