Madison residents learned how they can help prevent crime in their neighborhoods at a conference Wednesday at Lakeview Lutheran Church.

The annual conference was sponsored by several local branches of Triad, a national organization that promotes safety and crime prevention for older adults through their partnership with law enforcement and community agencies.

Although many senior citizens were in attendance, the group stressed it is not only senior citizens who can benefit from the conference.

"This is for every age group; it's not just seniors," said Mary Stamstad, one of the Triad coordinators.

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray and Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney opened the conference with their remarks.

"Every member of the community has a responsibility to not only garner the benefits that we receive in this community, but also to give back," Mahoney said.

Wray stressed the importance of crime prevention in addition to law enforcement, as a way to look at the root causes of some of the city's problems.

"Crime prevention is not easy; that's why I'm glad that's the theme today," Wray said. "Crime prevention is empowering, the average citizen can do something; you can take control and empower yourself."

According to Wray, the Madison Police Department takes three approaches to crime prevention.

The first involves improving specific locations to make crime less likely in that area, the second is dealing directly with the suspect and the third is working to educate potential victims.

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen also spoke at the event, again emphasizing the need for crime prevention in Madison.

"We're never going to have all the resources we need," Van Hollen said. "We've got to focus on prevention."

After the speakers, participants separated into smaller break-out sessions for the remainder of the day. Topics discussed ranged from juvenile gangs and identity theft to safe driving and home safety and security.

"It's groups like this that have actually made our community much safer," Mahoney said. "It starts with awareness. It starts with a conference like today."