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Community Policing Madison Police Style

At MPD we start with a simple proposition—the police cannot go it alone. We cannot begin to address the complex issues affecting our quality of life without assistance. Assistance in the form of the help and collaboration from many diverse groups who work in and for the community, as well as enlisting the support of all of our community members!

There are three critical elements that we embrace to demonstrate our commitment to community policing:

  1. Foster trust by providing quality service(s) for all. —which allows us to be better able...

    “...to identify problems that have the potential for becoming more serious for individuals, the police or the government...”

    Herman Goldstein

  2. Engage constituents to build partnerships that facilitate cooperation and collaboration.
  3. Dedicate efforts to problem oriented-policing (problem-solving) as a service model.

Problem

  • Two or more related incidents that cause harm.
  • Combined with a community expectation that police will address the issue.
 
 

Problem-Solving

  • Identify problems.
  • Analyze the situation.
  • Act on the analysis in a humane, fair and equitable manner.
  • Did it work?
 
 

Success!

  • Reduce the harms, intensity, volume, or eliminate the problem entirely.
  • Shared ownership of the issue.

When it comes to the problem-oriented approach to policing there is no “one-size-fits-all-cookie-cutter-approach.” What you will find are touchstones that focus on the things we all do in our everyday experiences in solving problems. Officers are not constrained or confined to creating some sort of academic thesis that must be defended before getting started—this is our daily work. While formalism may be needed for some of our large scale problem-solving challenges, we want ALL of our employees to look around their work environment and examine how systems they see everyday can be improved.

“The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.”

Sir Robert Peel

In essence—community policing is a philosophy that speaks to the relationships between the police and the people served in order to achieve some important goals: prevention of crime, enhanced quality of life, and greater degrees of public trust. Community policing is really—policing of the people, jointly with the people for the achievement of our common goals.

February 8, 2024 11:57 AM

Greetings! Applications are currently being accepted for the Madison Police Department's Community Academy. The academy will run 6 consecutive Thursdays starting February 29. The evening will start at 6 pm and conclude no later than 9 pm. The first five weeks will be held at the Madison … [read more]

November 28, 2023 6:58 AM

Greetings! During the month of November and December, the Community Outreach and Resource Education team (CORE) has been, and will continue to be very busy. Below is a list and summary of activities to date; and some of the upcoming events.... MPD Cares On Monday November 20th, Madison … [read more]

September 8, 2023 1:41 PM

Hello! We will have our monthly 'Coffee with a Cop' twice this month. First one will be at 10:00am-11:00am Friday September 15th in The East Police District Community Room at 809 S. Thompson Drive. Coffee will be provided for those who join us! For this event and future Coffee with a Cop events … [read more]

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