Madison police present year-end drops in several crime categories and outline new unit-based investigative model

Madison Police Department officials told the Common Council they are combining data-driven patrol strategies and broader prevention partnerships while testing an organizational change intended to improve investigative outcomes.

The department’s data-driven approach, described as "stratified policing," focuses resources on a short list of focal crimes that include homicides, subjects struck by gunfire, burglaries, stolen autos and thefts from autos. The department reported year-end comparisons to a three-year average showing declines in multiple categories: shots fired (117 incidents, a 24% decrease versus the three-year average), heroin and fentanyl overdoses (27% decrease), robberies (about 14% decrease), burglaries (42% decrease), stolen autos (50% decrease) and thefts from autos (about 19% decrease). Officials attributed the results to tighter collaboration with prevention partners and targeted resource deployment.

MPD also described a 2025 reorganization of investigative services into unit-based teams intended to build specialization and improve victim services. Assistant Chief Angie Kamoski said the unit model—covering violent crimes, special victims, property crimes and sensitive/crime-response teams by geography—was implemented last year and will be evaluated using 2024–25 data with results expected by the third quarter of this year.

The department emphasized routine participation by public-health partners (the violence-prevention unit) in monthly accountability meetings and said captains are given direction when microtime hot spots or problem locations emerge. On community concerns about recognition of plainclothes officers and vehicle identification, MPD said it will add visible windshield banners to unmarked cars and require more consistent identification while balancing victim-centered investigative needs.

On questions about racial disparities and repeated arrests, MPD leadership said they are exploring quality-assurance processes and community-involved reviews of arrest and citation practices to detect bias and inform training and policy adjustments.

Next steps: MPD will continue to present quarterly and annual data; the investigative reorganization will be evaluated later this year and the department said it will work with community partners to refine accountability processes.