New MPD District Captain John Davenport is looking to further develop relationships between MPD and citizens, particularly UW-Madison students.
Davenport, former Detective Lieutenant for the central district, became the District Captain on Nov. 11.
Davenport took over for Charles Cole, who was promoted to assistant police chief. Davenport has worked in the central district since Jan. 1996.
“I’m very familiar with the issues in the central district,” Davenport said.
In his previous position, Davenport’s responsibilities included reviewing police reports and assigning follow-ups as necessary.
Now Davenport is responsible for all officers, detectives, sergeants and lieutenants in the district. In addition, he has to maintain a good relationship with the alders in the district and media. As with all police personnel, he is also charged with keeping the city safe.
“The most important thing is the security and the safety of residents,” Davenport said.
Davenport has areas of particular concern that he plans to address, namely the 600 block of University Ave. on Wednesday through Sunday nights.
The 300 block of N. Henry, near Johnson and State is also of concern.
“We’re going to look into those areas and see what we can do to minimize some of the crowding,” Davenport said.
Davenport stressed alcohol policies will stay the same, at least for the time being.
“I plan on having a staff meeting with all new staff members in the district on Jan. 21,” Davenport said. “We’ll prioritize and decide what we’re going to work on. [Alcohol policies] may or may not be an issue.”
Davenport said the MPD looks at behavior and what the effects of alcohol have on the community and the quality of life for residents.
“When people are at house parties, sometimes they become violent under the influence, and that’s when we start getting calls,” Davenport said. “In an ideal world, if [the community] were more responsible, it wouldn’t be such a problem.”
Davenport plans to establish relationships between the citizens of Madison, including the student population.
“I really hope that we can be more accessible to the general public,” Davenport said. “And by general public I mean students, too.”
Davenport is working on creating an open forum, to create the opportunity for residents and representatives of UW to talk with the MPD and bring questions and concerns to their attention.
“The forum would not begin until late January,” Davenport said. “But if anyone has any thoughts or ideas now, I’d be more than happy to talk with them.”
Davenport can be contacted at 266-4575.
UW student Liz Kennedy thinks the forum is a great idea.
“I think it’s great,” Kennedy said. “It’s really important for students to be able to voice their concerns.”
Overall, Davenport’s goal is to maintain Madison as a great place to be.
“Madison’s a fun city,” Davenport said. “We want people to have a good time, but we need them to be responsible as well. In general, we’re looking to have a campus students enjoy but is also safe.”
