MADISON, Wis. — Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes and Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway gave their annual “State of Public Safety” address Thursday, saying the data shows their approach to addressing the root causes of crime is working.
The mayor credited initiatives like the Dane County Violence Prevention Coalition and other partnerships that intervene in situations that may lead to crime and violence for year-over-year drops in multiple categories of crime.
“These partnerships allow us to take a holistic approach to safety in our community, because it’s not just about crime, although we’ll talk about that today. It’s about safe neighborhoods, it’s about healthy families, and it’s about people being able to thrive here in the city of Madison, all of which helps keep our community safer,” Rhodes-Conway said during the address.
The police chief says while those partnerships have already shown some benefits, the department will continue to develop more of those relationships in the coming year.