01/28/04
The West District newsletter will be distributed electronically to district
employees, area alder persons, neighborhood association leaders, Fitchburg PD,
Middleton PD, Shorewood Hills PD, and command staff of the Madison Police
Department. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide information about
incident reports, criminal activities, and special events occurring in the
district with members of our community.
The West District is one of five police districts within the City of Madison.
The boundaries of the district extend from Franklin Ave., Glenway, and Seminole
Hwy. west to the city limits. You may view the boundaries of the West District
by visiting our website,
www.madisonpolice.com/west.html Easy guideline: If you are represented
on the common council by: Alderpersons Thomas, Bellman, MacCubbin, Brandon,
Holtzman or Skidmore, you definitely live in the area served by the West Police
District. A significant portion of Ald. Golden’s district is also apart of our
district.
The area covered by the West District includes at least 60 parks, including
Garner, Owen, Hoyt, Marshall and Elver. Also located in the West District are 10
public elementary schools, 6 public middle schools, and Memorial High School.
West Towne, Prairie Town Center, West Gate, Hilldale, and numerous smaller
retail centers. The number of commercial, residential and retail sites seem to
increase on a weekly basis.
In April 2002, the geographic size of the City of Madison was 72.1 square miles.
Of that 72.1, the West Police District accounts for 24.4 square miles, or over
1/3 of the total size of the City. It is geographically the largest of the 5
police districts.
Neighborhood Officers
Two new neighborhood officers have started their assignment in the Allied Dr.
neighborhood. They are, Off. Jeff McPike, an eight year veteran, and Off. Dave
Wixom, who started with MPD in 1999. We have also added Off. Curtis Fields, also
an eight veteran, to the Hammersley Rd., Bettys Lane area. Off. Tim Harder, an
MPD officer since 1996, continues his efforts in the Wexford neighborhood.
Wexford Neighborhood: by Off. Tim Harder
As a result of drug investigations, the tenants of three apartments were issued
drug abatement letters during the month of December. A resident of the Flower
Lane. apartments was arrested for his involvement in the December homicide at
Hanna’s in the Town of Madison. Unfortunately, we continue to have problems with
numerous noise complaint calls, most of them have been unfounded.
Other initiatives I was involved in include working with Meridian on prospective
tenants. Sixteen vehicles that were parked illegally in the lots were towed from
the properties. I also attended Intoximeter training and pursued a department
water bottle initiative.
Allied Dr. Neighborhood: By Jeff McPike & Dave Wixom
Unfortunately, we still have some concerns over the suspicious foot traffic in
the 2400 block of Allied Dr. The majority of this traffic is going to a specific
address in the 2400 blk. We have been in contact with Wisconsin Management, they
share our concern and have assured us that they are focusing attention on the
issue.
A lot of changes have been taking place on Allied Drive. A number of landlords
have begun to sell their properties to new and existing landlords in the Allied
neighborhood. The buildings at 2201, 2205, 2211 and 2217 were sold to Jim
Buskert and will be managed by Jeff Meyer. Mr. Buskert comes to the neighborhood
with a very good reputation and we are looking forward to working with him.
Gloria and Henry Stanley have purchased the properties at 2234, 2238, 2242,
2302, 2306, and 2310 from Jim Arndt. These buildings were the most active and
generated the most calls for service from January through the end of October
2003. Most of the problem tenants may be leaving due to non-payment of rent.
The buildings at 2402 and 2446 will be going through a facelift for the next
couple of months. Wisconsin Management has been in contact with me advising that
the buildings will be vacated during the renovation process. This project will
leave a lot of vacancies and upon completion we will be working with them to
fill those vacancies
We assisted in providing toys to the JFF office and to the learning center
during Christmas time. Both service providers were very thankful.
We have appreciated Officer Lester Moore’s assistance for the past couple of
months in the neighborhood and will miss him as he goes to his new 2004
assignment. We are looking forward to working with the new CPT team in 2004 in
the Allied Dr. neighborhood.
Hammersley / Bettys Lane: by Off. Curtis Fields
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the residents, community
workers, and patrol officers who helped to make a difference to our neighborhood
in 2003. I would also like to thank the administration and staff at WPD, our
wonderful alderpeople, and the staff at the SWRC for the tremendous efforts and
work they do to make West Madison a great place to live.
In reviewing the last year I can tell you that we have a great deal to be proud
of, our accomplishments are too numerous to list in this newsletter so I’m going
to highlight just a few of the wonderful moments I had in 2003. By far the
greatest accomplishment was the establishment of the Neighborhood Watch. I
remember thinking that nobody would even show up for my first neighborhood
meeting and was blown away when we had well over 15 people show up. We have now
grown to over 30 active members under the leadership of Captains Martha
Vollemann and Barb Schultz. I’m most proud of the fact that when I was assigned
as your Neighborhood Officer, the Theresa Ter. area was being known as an area
riddled with gangs, drugs, and crime. The situation had gotten so bad that men
with ball bats would stand guard at either end of the block and intimidate
residents coming into the area from school or work. Hard working people did not
want to be on that block and would go out of their way to avoid the area. But
this group of residents took up the challenge to “take back the neighborhood.”
In this first year we got rid of some of the biggest problems plaguing the
neighborhood. We evicted, or forced out residents and landlords who were
allowing short term traffic to their buildings by use of writing letters to
various city agencies, calling landlords and management to make them aware of
problems and confronting other situations head on as a team. We have been able
to remove over 16 problem residents, improved conditions in the area for the
better, established a calling tree so people would know they are not alone when
things got bad.
And most of all neighbors started talking to one another and instead of a group
of individuals we became a community.
There’s still work to be done but we now have a neighborhood where people walk
their dogs, get out and talk with each other, and are not afraid to drive down
Theresa Te to go home. Some of the “For Sale” signs that I saw last January have
come down and residents are willing to take a chance on the future, and more
importantly want a part in how that future is shaped. Theresa Te is changing for
the better.
In this coming year it is my hope that we will continue the momentum we have
built up in this area. A neighborhood clean up and cook out are being planned
for April, more programming for area youth are being put in place, and services
are being expanded at the SWRC. It is all very exciting and the future is
looking very bright. I would like to challenge everyone to reach out to other
residents in the neighborhood. Invite someone new to the meetings gain a new
perspective. As a group we need to continue to grow and learn. So please reach
out and continue to make a difference.
December 10, 2003 was a night to remember
It started out as the Neighborhood Officer wanting to honor the community with a
night of fun and laughter and pizza. I wanted to say thank you to those
community leaders who made an incredible impact to the Hammersley Neighborhood
by taking on special projects, and in general going over and above the call of
duty. In the end it was me who was surprised and humbled by this amazing group
of people. After being presented with a letter of appreciation from the Madison
Common Council by Ald.Linda Bellman and Ald.Cindy Thomas, I was then presented
with a Commendation signed by Gov. James Doyle presented by my Neighborhood
Watch Captains Martha Vollemann and Barb Schultz and Co Captain Margie Schwantes.
That alone would have been enough for anyone to take but the group was not done
with me yet. At the end of my Thank You to everyone my entire Neighborhood Watch
got up, pulled away coats and sweaters and revealed t-shirts with my face on the
front saying “Wanted by the PHNA.” I was stunned and humbled all at the same
time. Even more so because Chief Williams, Capt. Davenport and Lt. Peterson were
all present and they used that goofy picture of me from the WPD website.
It was a really great night one that I will remember always! For any officer
considering becoming a Neighborhood Officer at some point in their career I
would tell you that the work can be hard and sometimes frustrating. City
services will never correct a problem as fast as you need them too and social
services will never intervene in the way you hope they will, or know they
should. Hours are long, and more often then not you’ll find yourself saying
things like “What was I thinking.” But this last year for me has been the most
satisfying of my career. You truly don’t realize how much of an impact you make
as a police officer and just how much people appreciate what you do to help
impact their lives in a positive way. I would recommend this job to anyone.
Patrol Operations: by Lt. Tony Peterson
Shift Change
On January 18 the following personnel will depart from WPD staff to new
assignments: Lieutenant Bill Housley, Sergeants Joey Skenendore and Cindy Mierow,
Detective Roger Baker, Officers Tony Barone, Gloria Ben-Ami, Kevin Dunnington,
Jeff Hughes, Tony Fiore, Oleg Ivchenkco, Kraig Knutson, Erv Marks, Sarah
McLaughlin, Darrel Monroe, Lester Moore, Sarah Olson, Mike Ott, Jill Roberts and
Thai Xiong.
WPD command staff would like to thank these folks for their efforts the past
year and wish them the best in 2004.
Three MPD officers are also members of U.S. military reserve units. Officer Tony
Barone had been deployed to the Middle East during 2002, and returned to the
west district for 2003. In December 2003, Officer Tony Barone was reactivated as
were MPD Officers Carlos Valentine and Eric Dalma. (Some of you may have seen
Officer Dalma’s picture on Channel 3000’s website as his photo was taken during
a recent visit to Irag by newscaster John Karcher) Our prayers and best wishes
go out to these officers and their families.
Newly assigned personnel include Lieutenant Jay Lengfeld, Sergeants Linda
Kosovac, Eric Tripke, and Lauri Schwartz, Detectives Brian Austin, Kris Acker,
and Officers Josh Acker, John Amos, Brad Armstrong, Caleb Bedford, Carren
Corcoran, Ryan Gibson, Pat Green, Theresa Hilleman, Chad Joswiak, Matt Kenny,
Chris Kobinsky, Jen Krueger, Shane Olson, Phil Peterson, Angie Streich, Laura
Walker, Gene Washington, Paige Valenta and Bob Veatch.
The arriving personnel adds to our staffing:
-An additional shared day shift Sergeant’s position with SPD
-An additional Detective position
-Our shared (SOUTH/west) Community Police Team of one Sergeant
and six Police Officers
Our Administrative Assistant Mary Trautsch will be reassigning mailboxes to
include new personnel on Saturday, January 17. Arriving officers will find in
their mailbox information that will familiarize them with WPD and help them with
the transition to a new work assignment. Locker/lock assignments may be
coordinated through Mary.
Property Crimes
December looks to have been a very bad month for property crimes. In reviewing
calls for a seventeen-day period, the number of incidents is as follows:
Thefts (including retail thefts and thefts from autos)-171
Damage to Property-78
Burglary (res and non-res)-25
Intern Kurt Hansen is currently reviewing reports and collecting data that will
hopefully assist us in identifying any pattern, m.o. or suspects. We are already
aware that many of the “thefts” and “damage to properties are related to vehicle
break-ins which have been a significant problem for some time, both in our
district and city-wide.
There has also been a rash of incidents where persons unknown seem to be
randomly smashing vehicles window, mirrors, etc. Many of the seventy-eight
“damage to property” reports are related to this behavior.
There was some excellent work done by patrol officers and detectives where
several persons were arrested for twenty to thirty theft from autos which
occurred over a three day period in the district. We appreciate the hard work!
Allied Drive
We did not have the opportunity to tally WPD total calls for service in December
to determine what percent occurred in the Allied area. But in speaking with
Patrol and Neighborhood Officers, the overall consensus was that calls for
service in the neighborhood were probably down.
Early in the month there was a shooting that occurred in an area fast food
parking lot. The suspect fired a shotgun from a vehicle striking a passenger in
another vehicle. The investigation revealed that this was not a random act and
those involved knew each other. A suspect was quickly identified and later taken
into custody.
WPD personnel, with the assistance of the United States Marine Corps’ Toys For
Tots program, delivered fifty holiday gifts for to the Joining Forces For
Families office. Gifts were delivered to needy families through Rita Adair and
her staff.
Traffic Enforcement:
See attached document
Items of interest:
Our Madison Police Department web page can be found at
http://www.madisonpolice.com . A lot
of interesting information is available on this site including current media
releases, which can be accessed by clicking on the “press releases” tab. By
clicking on this tab, not only can you access current media release information
(which is updated by our Officer In Charge regularly during their shift), you
will also be able to access previous media releases.
Wisconsin Highway information updates:
The WI DOT has informed us that the I-39/90 Web site is live to the public:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d1/i39/index.htm . This is an
additional resource available to help make your traveling easier through the
great state of Wisconsin.
For those of you who have problems receiving phone calls day and night from
telemarketers, below is the web page to sign up for the State's "No Call"
list... please feel free to forward to friends and family.
https://nocall.wisconsin.gov/web/registration.asp
Conclusion
The information above is intended to provide you with information about what is
happening in the West Police District. It's not all-inclusive and it does not
list the specific addresses of crime nor does it provide a complete account of
the police activities and arrests. I hope this information helps you to develop
personal strategies and habits that will help keep you, your families and your
property safe.
Please notify the police immediately to report suspicious activity in your
neighborhood. The Madison Police Department welcomes your call and the
opportunity to work with you to keep Madison safe.
Thank you,
Captain John Davenport