Tonight was bittersweet as Darbo-Worthington neighbors celebrated community over plates of yummy salad and spaghetti (thank you, Mentoring Positives, Inc.!), just one week before The Salvation Army of Dane County's Darbo Dr. Community Center program will end due to financial challenges. The Center has been an invaluable asset to the neighborhood in so many ways.

“This is what it looks like when it’s Done Right,” is what East district Captain Ed Marshall had to say about the February 25th Black History Month Celebration and Soul Food Dinner at the Meadowlands Apartments on Milwaukee St. He applauded the East District Neighborhood Team and the East CPAB for putting together “an excellent, well attended event. Looking around the room, I could see connections being made everywhere, and no one left hungry.” Neighborhood Resource Officer Laura Deloach added, “This was the best event Meadowlands has had!”

In February, schools throughout Madison participate in Read Your Heart Out in celebration of National African American Parent Involvement Day. Family members, community members, and volunteers who identify as African American or Black are invited to read to students. North Advisor Nate Savado, who also serves as East Madison Community Center's Youth Program Manager, read to students at Hawthorne Elementary School.

On January 17, JustDane hosted an important panel discussion about racial disparities, police discretion, and equity in Dane County's justice system. The Madison Police Department's South District's Community Policing Advisory Board was honored to be among the organizations represented. South Advisor and JustDane Associate Director Shar-Ron Buie did a phenomenal job as panelist moderator. Thank you to South Detective Sergeant (and panelist) Ken Mosely, Sergeant Ray Gillard, and Captain Harrison Zanders, as well as all of the panelists and guests, for your presence and participation!

Wow! What a turnout we had last Thursday at our Law Enforcement Appreciation Day Blood Drive, held at Garver Feed Mill. From open to close, a steady stream of generous donors – including current officers, retired officers, family members, neighbors, friends, community partners, and walk-ins – supplied nearly 50 units of blood to the American Red Cross. Thank you! ❤️

Look who made the Nice List! 🎅🏽 Santa made a special visit on Monday to the Heights on University Ave., where kids and officers from the Madison Police Department’s Midtown district decorated cookies together and shared in holiday cheer. Thank you to Santa's helpers (Midtown's Community Policing Advisory Board) for organizing such a fun holiday party! 🎉🎁🥳

Ho ho ho! 🎅🏽 ❄️ 🍪 The holiday spirit was poppin’ at Lake View Community School on Madison’s north side, where families selected toys, clothing, and books to be wrapped by Madison Police Department Officers Krista Luedtke and Lu Senatus, among other volunteers. Behind the event’s magic was North’s Community Policing Advisory Board member and Lake View staffer “Eve the Elf” Ropel, with help from a little elf of her own, Lieutenant Daniel Perez. Shoutout to Toys for Tots for an exciting array of toys to choose from and to Madison Reading Project for keeping students’ bookshelves stacked with books in Arabic, Hmong, English, and Spanish! What a special opportunity for MPD and the North CPAB to interact with the north side community, including its beautiful population of recent Afghan immigrants. The north side is rich with cultural and linguistic diversity, including its Hmong community as well. We’re so grateful for this time together!

It’s a holiday tradition MCPF looks forward to each year. 🦃 🥧 MCPF board members and volunteers, along with reps from the East Community Policing Advisory Board, the Madison Police Department, Monona Police Department, and Sun Prairie Police Department, met bright and early at Metcalfe's Market for grocery pickup, and then filled bags with frozen turkeys and other holiday favorites. Once assembled, officers hand-delivered more than 100 Thanksgiving meal kits to people in our community.

The wind and cold didn’t scare away these intrepid trick or treaters who stopped by The Salvation Army’s Trunk or Treat celebration. 🎃 👻 🍫🍬 New East District Community Policing Advisory Board members Flo (and daughter Skyler) and Kim kept spirits bright and goodie bags full, representing while MPD was called to support recent dignitary visits. 🇺🇸🛩🕵🏽

Madison Police Department’s East district Neighborhood Officer Laura Deloach, Captain Ed Marshall, and East CPAB Advisor Kathy Jackson adorned block party goers with colorful, ephemeral works of art at Operation Fresh Start’s (OFS) Community Resource Block Party on August 29th. 🦄 🦸🏾‍♀️ 🌈 🦾 ☁️ 🕸 🦋 This was made possible thanks to East CPAB Advisor and OFS Resource Specialist Grace Coleman, who conceived of and organized the event, co-hosted with Reach Dane.

This fun back-to-school event included a bouncy house, DJ, food trucks, representatives from the Darbo-Worthington Park neighborhood businesses and nonprofits, and community partners including Madison Public Libraries, The River Food Pantry, La Familia Dental, Bikes for Kids, and more.

Madison Police Department East district Captain Marshall and Community Policing Advisory Board member Howard Ross helped adorn attendees at The Salvation Army of Dane County’s backyard bash with temporary works of art. Thank you to former Advisor and Salvation Army staffer LaTrease Hibbler for inviting us to have a table at the event. Kids (and adults alike) got a kick out of their new “ink,” and some repeat customers couldn’t get enough! Who wouldn’t want a full sleeve featuring Batman, butterflies, Nick Fury, unicorns, Iron Man, rainbows, Optimus Prime, puffy clouds, Megatron, Spiderman, soccer balls, and moonbeams? 🦄 🦸🏾‍♀️ 🌈 🦾 ☁️ 🕸 🦋 This was the perfect opportunity for police and community members to bond over favorite characters, hobbies, artwork, colors, and more. ❤️

Today, North district Community Policing Advisory Board member and educator Eve Ropel, along with Madison Police Department's North district Captain Jamar Gary, Lieutenant Daniel Perez, and CORE Officer Carlin Becker, pitched in at the Lake View Elementary School / Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin food pantry, talking with and inviting North district neighbors to tomorrow's main National Night Out event at Warner Park. We hope to see you there!

Throughout summer, the Madison Police Department’s Community Outreach and Resource Education (CORE) Team has been hosting cookouts in all six police districts, bringing citizens and officers together to get to know one another, discuss safety concerns as well as strategies, and celebrate community. In the South district, CPAB Advisors joined in on August 1st, taking the opportunity to meet and talk with residents of Highland Manor Mobile Home Park, learn about their experiences living in the area as well as their hopes for a community with safety at the forefront.

Madison Police Department staff and other community leaders hosted their very first Public Safety Summit on July 23 at the Warner Park Community Center, and several CPAB Advisors were in attendance.

The goal: to understand current safety trends in Madison and the strategies the community is using to prevent crime.

Panelists, including representatives from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Public Health Madison & Dane County, and Focused Interruption Coalition discussed opportunities for collaboration to enhance safety in Madison.

Neighbors meeting neighbors, shaking hands, exchanging contact info, sharing observations ... East district Community Policing Advisory Board members Amee and Kathy, along with Captain Ed Marshall, were grateful to all who stopped by to talk about community safety issues and their various experiences with the Madison Police Department. Thank you to the Capitol View Farmers' Market for making us a part of your event!

How do west siders and the West Madison Police Department district beat the heat? With explosions of ice cream flavors, colorful volcanoes, and water balloons, that's how! 😎🍧🌋 Yesterday evening, families at Uno Terrace Apartments, West PD officers, and West Community Policing Advisory Board members enjoyed a memorable evening of science, scoops, splash games, and handfuls of books for summer reading.

At today's Dane County Farmers’ Market, residents stopped by to share their experiences with Madison Police Department with Advisors from the Central district's Community Policing Advisory Board. Thank you to Patrol Officer Tray Turner for coming out and helping the Advisors engage with more community members!

Lt. James Imoehl attended Midtown’s June CPAB meeting to deliver an informative and interesting presentation on Madison Police Department's Special Events Team (SET), including its history, goals, philosophy, and specialty units (bike, field extraction, grenadier, logistics, and medics).

Advisors asked great questions and had fun trying on the protective gear worn by SET members when responding to community events such as protests and demonstrations.

Day two of the much-anticipated ceramics class, taught by MPD’s Midtown Community Policing Advisory Board member Kahlia Lintner and supported by her fellow Advisors and MPD Officers, finally arrived on Monday! Everyone enjoyed expressing their creativity through colorful underglazing and decorating of their own creations from the first class, now fired and dried for painting.

Youth and adults alike completed surveys for the second time about their feelings related to safety in Madison and their perceptions of the Madison Police Department. This is an important tool for our data gathering as we analyze the impact of this grant-funded work throughout the year and beyond.

At the May 28 and 29 East and West districts’ CPAB meetings, Advisors heard presentations on the Madison Police Department’s Mental Health Unit (MHU). Discussed were the history of the MHU, training that police officers receive on mental health and how they respond to calls, individuals’ safety plans, and how MHOs and embedded crisis workers help prevent many would-be emergencies that patrol officers would otherwise need to respond to.