Despite the threat of a growing heroin epidemic throughout the city, Madison’s crime rates significantly dropped in 2011, according to a Madison Police Department report.
The report said crime rates in all major crime categories except for three decreased by 9.3 percent in 2011 from the previous year. The categories that went up included theft, fraud and homicide. Theft rose from 6,289 crimes in 2010 to 6,440 in 2011; fraud went from 1,108 in 2010 to 1,147 in 2011; and homicide incidents went from two in 2010 to six in 2011.
MPD Lt. Dave McCaw said the overall drop is a result of the department’s continuous ambition to perform better and more efficiently while providing the city’s citizens with the protection they need.
According to McCaw, citizens have also contributed to the drop in crime by reporting crimes to the police department sooner than in pervious years.
He added improvements in technology have also been helpful for crime prevention. The increase of cell phone ownership has made it easier to detect crimes quicker and provide more efficient communication.
Crime in the downtown and campus areas has decreased, as well. McCaw said MPD expected crime rates to go up last year because of massive protests at the Capitol and a general increase of people in the area, but the protests produced the opposite effect.
“We didn’t have any fights, disorderly conducts or anything when we were dealing with a huge increase in our population for those days,” McCaw said. “For some reason, while the protests were happening, we were experiencing a huge, noticeable wall in crime.”
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said innovative techniques used by University of Wisconsin police officers have proved effective to reduce crimes, including bike theft and downtown bar threats.
McCaw also said bar policies have played an important part in curbing crime.
“Downtown bars are being more careful on over-serving, and everybody in their little spectrum is trying to deal with their issues better,” McCaw said. “Everyone keeps getting better and better to provide better services.”
The use of programs to inform citizens about crime and safety, such as advocacy groups to support women suffering from domestic abuse, also attributed to the drop in crime rates, McCaw said.
MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain cited programs targeting gang members as another effective solution to crime.
DeSpain said even though reported crimes to MPD decreased in 2011, it does not mean problems facing the city have dissipated. MPD is still facing significant problems with the growing heroin epidemic, he added.
MPD also recently promoted a new ordinance that will allow officers to better track stolen items that are sold to pawn shops and other secondhand dealers, according to the report. These measures hope to drive down heroin-related crimes.
Resnick said despite lowered crime rates, there are still crime-related issues that need to be addressed in Madison.
“It’s always something to promote the fact that we have a safe city, but we can still see that we don’t live in a crime-free community,” Resnick said. “Crimes of sexual nature and of firearm use are still a bit jarring, even for a community of our size.”
Resnick said the decrease in crime is a reflection of the Madison community itself. He said the community is willing to respond and help each other, which is why statistics have dropped across the board.
