As Madison’s population continues to grow, the Madison Police Department is undergoing significant changes in its detective bureau to better serve the community, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The MPD is shifting its focus toward specialization, restructuring its detective districts to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of investigations, MPD investigative services Capt. Daniel Nale said. This will ensure that resources are utilized in a way that best addresses the needs of the city, Nale said.
The decision to restructure was driven by population growth and the increasing demands placed on the department, Nale said.
“The calls for service continue to go up for patrol, and when that happens, there’s more opportunity for more cases to be investigated by detectives,” Nale said. “We’re not increasing our detective bureau … so how do we go about trying to become more efficient and be able to look into more cases?”
To address this, the department is shifting to a model of specialized detective units, Nale said.
Currently, the MPD has three specialty units — Violent Crime, Burglary Crime and Special Victims, Nale said. In the coming year, this approach will be expanded across all six districts, with each district’s detective bureau focusing on a specific type of crime — from violent crimes to financial fraud, Nale said.
“What we’re going to do next year is to go to all specialty units… to continue the expansion that we started in 2011 with the first specialty unit,” Nale said. “One of our core values here at the Madison Police Department is proficiency and continuous improvement.”
For Madison residents, this change may not be immediately noticeable in terms of how cases are handled day-to-day, but the results should be evident over time, Nale said.
In particular, residents may see improvements in follow-up investigations, Nale said. While the initial response to a case will still come from the district station, the specific detective working the case will now specialize in the relevant area, Nale said.
Nale emphasized that this change is about improving the quality of service, not just increasing the volume of cases handled.
“We’re constantly trying to improve our service model to the community, and that includes the UW community as well,” Nale said. “…We’re making this change in the hope to increase our efficiency and our outputs to the community.”
