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.

On May 22, 30 Community Policing Advisory Board members were awarded "Community Member Assistance" Citations by Madison Police Department Chief Shon Barnes for their work over the last 11 months helping to build trust and legitimacy between police and the community.

At their May CPAB meeting, South district Advisors welcomed retired MPD Captain and MCPF Chair Joe Balles to give a presentation on MAARI (Madison Area Addiction Recovery Initiative), a U.S. Department of Justice grant-funded pre-arrest diversion program that aims to reduce overdose, crime and recidivism and increase addiction treatment engagement.

The Madison Police Department's South District and their Community Policing Advisory Board had so much fun with Park Cedar Apartment residents Friday night. They played games (including Black History Month bingo - thank you, Will Glenn Sr.!) sang karaoke, shared dinner from Melly Mell's Soul Food, and reinforced relationships that will carry into the future as we work together in support of community safety for all.

Madison Police Department's South District Captain Harrison Zanders and our South District Community Policing Advisory Board joined Public Health Madison & Dane County and building management for a listening session at Park Cedar Apartments to discuss with residents how we can come together proactively as a community, working together in support of resident and neighborhood safety.

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!