MPD’s Special Events Team (SET) met with the Central district’s Community Policing Advisory Board members ahead of Mifflin Street Block Party (and the upcoming Republican National Convention) to discuss the history, philosophy, and goals behind SET and its Community Dialogue Team.

On February 6, the Central district held its first monthly “Chat with a Cop” public meeting at the Central branch of the Madison Public Library. On the agenda: An introduction to the Community Policing Advisory Board and the Department of Justice Grant funding the work as well as a primer on the Central district, including organization and staffing and types of calls for service.

On November 14 Madison Police Department's Central District Community Policing Advisory Board and Captain Michael Hanson met at the Beacon daytime resource center for those experiencing homelessness in Madison and Dane County.

On October 19, all six of Madison Police Department's Community Policing Advisory Boards met for the first time under the same roof. MPD Chief Shon Barnes outlined MPD's 5-year strategic plan, emphasizing the need for community partnerships. “We are taking our first step at becoming a national model for exceptional policing through this commitment to forming effective community partnerships,” Chief Barnes said.

National Night Out, held the first week in August throughout Madison and the U.S., is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships. Several of our Community Policing Advisory Board members came out to meet and talk with residents about neighborhood safety, gathering ideas, feedback, and new friends!