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Cieslewicz, Falk outline 2008 initiatives for safety

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Also by Cara Harshman:

Alders tackle snow parking issues (January 21, 2008)
Freshman, senior square off for supervisor seat (January 21, 2008)
Cieslewicz, Falk outline 2008 initiatives for safety (January 21, 2008)
City signs off on new apartments (January 21, 2008)
Debate hits as Legislature decides whether to enact statewide smoking ban (January 21, 2008)

by Cara Harshman

Monday, January 21, 2008

Violent crime in Madison decreased 15.6 percent in the first six months of 2007, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation report released earlier this month.

While data for Madison showed an overall decrease in violent crimes compared to 2006, the occurrence of crimes including murder, forcible rape, assault and motor vehicle theft remained relatively stable.

According to FBI data, Madison’s 15.6 percent decrease in violent crime compares to a 1.8 percent decrease in nationwide violent crime for the first six months of 2007.

“It’s definitely very good news,” said George Twigg, communications director for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. “But the mayor’s feeling is until everyone feels safe in their neighborhoods, we can’t declare victory yet.”

The report includes numbers of violent crimes from 11,673 law enforcement agencies nationwide from January to June of 2007.

“There has been a pretty sizable decline in robberies, which had been a big issue downtown the summer before,” Twigg said. According to FBI data, the number of Madison robberies declined from 207 in the same period of 2006 to 154 in 2007. Burglaries increased from 721 to 785.

Twigg added Cieslewicz attributes the crime decline to his initiative to increase awareness of issues and enhance watch programs through the downtown safety plan.

Prompted by constituent concerns and his own ideas, Cieslewicz crafted a comprehensive safety plan to make Madison a safer city. The plan, which passed as part of the 2008 state budget, allocated money to hire 30 new police officers, work on additional graffiti eradication, establish more community service programs and set up services to support the homeless.

“One year of good news is encouraging,” Twigg said. “It just means we have to continue what we’re doing.”

Joel DeSpain, public information officer for the Madison Police Department, said the police department does as much as it can to be proactive, but many crimes depend on happenstance.

“If we see trends, we can put together an action plan to stop activity and help prevent others from being victimized,” DeSpain said. “But there is only so much we can do.”

The Dane County Sheriff Department assists the MPD to combat violent crime and houses felons arrested in Madison.

Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said the sheriff’s department is responding to the Mayor’s 2008 safety plan with a new GPS bracelet program for felons released from jail under the HUBER law, essentially a work release program.

“With a court mandate, inmates can be released to seek education, work, drug or alcohol counseling, or child care,” Mahoney said. “We currently have 52 inmates out on electronic monitoring.”

Overall, DeSpain said the crime rate in Madison has always been low, adding, “Madison residents are more concerned with quality of life issues.”

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk is also working on a plan to make the city safer by curtailing alcohol misuse.

Josh Wescott, spokesperson for Falk, said the plan is still a work in progress.

“We are going to be talking about ways to stem what [Falk] sees as misery caused from alcohol abuse,” he said.

Twigg said Dane County is taking initiatives to prevent crime by using alternative incarceration for substance abusers, such as rehab centers instead of jails.

“A crime prevented is better than a crime solved,” he added.

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