Crime down in Madison

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) — Madison city leaders say that they are seeing “consistent downward trends” in crime. This year, they observed a 43 percent decrease in burglaries, with 335 in the last year.

There has also been a 52 percent decrease in stolen autos with 230 over the last year. Homicides are down 55 percent with three this year.

The leaders, including Satya Rhodes-Conway and newly sworn in Chief of Police John Patterson, say violence prevention requires collaboration. One tool they use is Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES). The program began in 2021 and sends a team of paramedics and mental health workers to certain non-violent emergencies.

“CARES has quickly become a trusted partner out on the street. If you listen to our radio dispatch everyday, officers are routinely requesting for CARES assistance,” Patterson said. “They’re routinely trying to divert and deflect more calls away from them and towards CARES. I think it has clearly played a significant role in what we’re seeing across the city.”

Leaders say CARES is in high demand. It currently has a pilot program in Sun Prairie and other communities would like to participate.

“Only two percent of the individuals we encounter with CARES are transferred over to law enforcement, that’s a really huge impact,” said Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Hammes. “As Chief Patterson alluded to, it’s freed up the officers workload there, and it’s really, again, directing individuals to the services they need instead of the traditional response where it would have just been historically a fire and EMS response or a law enforcement response. That’s only about 130 individuals out of the 6,700 individuals that we’ve encountered with CARES.”

Mayor Rhodes-Conway says the people on the ground are working to make Madison safer. She says that’s of particular note given the rhetoric over crime in major cities. She said if the federal government was serious about creating safety, it would invest in giving more resources to local governments.

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