Madison Police present first-quarter data and stratified policing plan; council accepts report

The Madison Police Department on May 6 presented its first-quarter report and an overview of a data-driven strategy the department calls “stratified policing.” Chief Patterson and Assistant Chief Matt Tai described the model and shared early 2025 crime statistics; the Common Council moved and seconded to accept the report and, with no objection, recorded a unanimous vote in favor.

The report and presentation: Assistant Chief Matt Tai described stratified policing as a “data informed model” that sets focal crimes for the year and directs resources to priority areas, problem locations and microtime hot spots. Tai said the department sets annual crime reduction goals for selected focal crimes and the department is “looking for a 5% reduction in each each of those focal crimes.” He told the council the model emphasizes evidence-based tactics (including Koper-style intermittent high-visibility patrols and problem-oriented policing) and layered accountability through weekly, biweekly and monthly meetings.

Data highlights the chiefs presented for Jan. 1–March 31, 2025 included: 30 shots-fired incidents (a 14.3% decrease from the previous quarter), 44 known overdose events (a 13.7% decrease), 22 robberies (an 18.5% decrease), 99 burglaries (a 3.1% increase from the previous quarter, with a subsequent April decline noted by staff), 65 stolen autos (one more than the prior quarter) and 131 thefts from autos (a 21% decrease). The department also included use-of-force totals, restorative-justice referrals and updates on mental-health response efforts in the written report.

Restorative justice and diversion: The chiefs described multiple diversion pathways. Chief Patterson said youth ages 12–16 who commit municipal ordinance violations receive direct restorative justice referrals (through community providers such as Porchlight and YWCA) rather than citations. For people ages 17–25, Patterson described the Dane County Community Restorative Court (CRC) referral pathway and an officer-initiated direct-referral option; the CRC program covers certain offense types (the chief listed disorderly conduct, retail theft, criminal damage to property, battery and certain obstructing charges) and is limited by age range and offense types. Patterson said the department could expand referrals with broader stakeholder agreement and that “there’s a definite area for growth.”

Questions from council members addressed data comparators, cross-agency data matching and program metrics. Alder Evers asked whether the department has compared arrest outcomes on calls involving CARES (the city’s community-based mental-health response) versus other responses; staff said some comparisons have been done and recommended further analysis including sequential intercept mapping this summer. Alder Rittiver and others asked whether quarterly-to-quarterly comparisons were appropriate given seasonal trends; chiefs said they can add quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year views in future reports.

Other operational items: Chiefs described mutual-aid practice (reciprocal support among county agencies, invoked most during large or multiple concurrent priority incidents) and said Madison more often assists suburban partners than requests aid. On traffic enforcement, the department said it plans to roll out a traffic strategic plan to staff around Memorial Day focused on high-injury networks and community complaints; the council requested progress and metrics in future reports. The department said Narcan (naloxone) is issued to all officers and that usage/save statistics can be reported.

The council moved to accept the report; the motion was seconded and recorded as a unanimous vote. Council members continued to press for additional disaggregated data and for measures that track outcomes of community partnerships and diversion programs.

What’s next: Staff said they will follow up on requests for additional data (quarter-to-quarter comparisons, incident-type breakdowns for use-of-force incidents, Narcan administration counts, and cross-system comparisons with CARES), and the department committed to share the forthcoming traffic strategy when it is issued to staff.