Police Incident Reports A Selection of Noteworthy Incident Reports

Incidents listed are selected by the Officer In Charge of each shift that may have significant public interest. Incidents listed are not inclusive of all incidents. To view Calls for Services information, please visit communitycrimemap.com. Requests for information can be directed to the MPD Records Unit: (608) 266-4075.

Incident Report for Case #0000-000000

Incident Type

Information

Incident Date

10/14/2021 - 12:00 AM

Address

1710 Mckenna Blvd (Madison's West Police District)

Details

The Madison Police Department's West District share concerns and are especially troubled by the relatively new escalation involving residents being confronted at gunpoint in and around their vehicles and homes. As many of you know, this is the third such incident since August 19th in a relatively small area to the South and West of McKee Rd and Maple Grove Drive. MPD believes that these three cases are related and are being committed by a small group of individuals who are becoming increasingly more brazen. These three cases are also likely related to the extensive property crime spree that took place during the overnight hours of October 5th where MPD took over 40 reports involving forced entry theft from auto, criminal damage to property, and burglaries. Finally, it appears the involved individuals have been associated with weapons offenses in Madison in recent months.

To be clear, this most recent violent person and property crime spree do NOT fit within what is often referred to as crimes of opportunity. When that phrase is used, we are typically referring to unlocked and unoccupied vehicles or persons entering open unoccupied garages. Individuals involved in these cases typically have no plans of interacting with or confronting residents and generally do not engage in a forced entry or property damage. In those cases, we know that the most effective strategy is one of prevention by locking doors and keeping valuable secure and out of public view. Again, this most recent crime spree does not fit this description and no resident behavior or action is to blame for this. We collectively should not expect and should never accept criminals pointing guns at residents to take property by force. This spree is MPD's number one priority and we will do everything to bring it to an end.

What are West PD and MPD doing?

The crime spree occurring in the South end of the West District (Aldermanic District 7) is being investigated by West PD Detectives along with the Burglary Crime Unit and the Gang Neighborhood Crime Abatement Team. Additionally, related cases are being investigated by the other MPD Districts. MPD is actively working with the Dane County Stolen Auto Workgroup as well as agencies outside of Dane County who have cases with ties to our spree. It is MPD's hope and expectation that we will have arrests in these cases to report to you all in the coming days. MPD is working with our Criminal Intelligence Section to analyze data to better inform our preventative strategies and to link cases together. While detectives work to identify, locate and arrest the persons responsible, MPD will work to increase presence in the targeted areas. MPD will do this through assigned directed patrols in the overnight hours (known as 4th and 5th Patrol Details). To bolster patrol resources who are likely to get pulled away for other in-progress priority calls for service, West PD is developing a problem-solving initiative and will soon request additional resources to increase police presence in this specific area. This is a short-term intervention and not sustainable over the long run but it is needed at this time.

In general, residents are always encouraged to be alert, vigilant, and to report all suspicious activity to Dane County Dispatch via 911 or the non-emergency dispatch line at 608-255-2345. MPD recommends the following until this spree has abated:

- The three carjacking cases have occurred between the hours of 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM with residents arriving home to generally empty streets. MPD's sense at this time is that suspects have a connection to this area of the city and are in the area and looking for an additional vehicle for use in their criminal activities. They appear to be watching for an alone occupant approaching a residence and typically approach immediately as the vehicle comes to a stop. This is likely done in the hope that the vehicle is still unlocked, running, or at least with keys still in the ignition or easily accessible. Be aware of your surroundings as you approach your residence and watch for occupied cars in the area.
- Considering notifying a family member or neighbor of your arrival time and ask for someone to standby with lights on to greet you and see you safely into your residence.
- If you observe suspicious activity as you arrive to the area of your home and feel unsafe exiting your vehicle, remain in your locked car and contact Dane County Dispatch via 911 to request an officer to respond to check the area and confirm your safety.
- If parking in your garage, consider remaining in the car with the car door locked until the garage door is fully down.
- If parking on the street, in a parking lot, or a driveway, pause momentarily after coming to a stop. Keep car doors locked and monitor the area. If being approached by another vehicle, remain in your locked vehicle and consider your route out of the area should you decide that it would be best to drive away out of the area and call for assistance.
- If confronted by an armed person demanding your property, separate yourself from your property, and move slowly away from the armed suspect(s). Your personal safety is the priority in these situations. Protect yourself and do your very best to be the best possible witness you can be to pass along detailed information to the officers who will respond when notified.
- Assess the area around your home for large areas of darkness that can be addressed with additional lighting. Consider parking in the best lit area possible.
- Assess your routines, especially related to returning home in overnight hours of darkness. Give thought to your route home and where you would expect to see parked cars. Watch for occupied parked vehicles or vehicles moving slowly in the neighborhood. If you routinely arrive home between the hours of 11 PM and 2:00 am in the area recently being targeted, consider working with a family member or neighbor to have someone meet you as you arrive with additional exterior lights on.
- As neighborhood associations or apartment complexes, increase information sharing to keep residents aware of updates to this spree and/or new criminal behavior in the area.

MPD has also received questions about security cameras and whether they are useful to MPD investigations:
- Absolutely. Video collected in these cases is used to build cases against the individuals involved, even if only to establish a timeline of incidents and to link multiple cases together.
- This can be a time-consuming process and can at times overwhelm our resources, especially in the more prolific sprees such as the October 5th forced entry theft from auto spree, but every piece of information helps to complete the picture and move these cases along.
- When you are aware of criminal activity in your neighborhood, check your camera footage for any potentially useful video evidence. If you find something on your camera footage, contact MPD who can then assess whether we will collect it.

Crime prevention is everyone's responsibility, and it starts with all of us in the community working in partnership. MPD's many partnerships and efforts through our neighborhood officers, community policing teams, gang unit, and our community outreach units focus on building and strengthening relationships, especially with our youth. MPD is confident that we will collectively bring this crime spree to an end and the individuals responsible will be held accountable. Your safety is our priority and we will do everything we can to protect you and your property. Citizens are encouraged to reach out to their respective districts with questions or concerns, MPD is willing to arrange a neighborhood meeting at any time upon request.

Released 10/14/2021 at 11:04 AM by P.O. Ryan Kimberley