Paul Fanlund: When Shon Barnes became Madison police chief in 2021, the School Board had already removed police officers who had been stationed in each of the city’s four mainstream public high schools. The year before, raucous protests against the school resource officers — SROs — had been visceral in the racial upheaval that followed … Continue reading Police chief makes case to bring cops back to Madison high schools
Jim Piwowarczyk & Jessica McBride I have deep concerns for the future of this department and its ability to retain the most valuable resource it doesn’t know it has: the experienced and proficient officers and immediate supervisors who serve the community every day by responding to calls for service. You know who you are, you … Continue reading ‘Farewell MPD’: A Madison Police Officer’s Epic Letter to Colleagues
Chris Rickert: Officers searching the vehicle the suspects arrived in found the marijuana and other items, the blog said. Lisko said that while no charges have been filed, a detective has been assigned to the matter. Principal Dan Kigeya said in an email home to parents Thursday afternoon that “staff responded to the incident quickly, … Continue reading Madison West high school fight: 25 students and a strong-arm robbery in which police recovered marijuana, fake IDs, fake currency and a spent shell casing.
Allison Garfield: Three police funding grants are working their way through committees to eventually go before the Madison City Council, none of which would require taxpayer dollars but could add hundreds of thousands to the police department’s operating budget. Police funding has been a controversial topic in recent years, heightening after the death of George … Continue reading Commentary on Madison Police taxpayer spending
Dave Cieslewicz: That’s an average of about 3.5 times a day or almost once per day to each school. According to a story in this morning’s Wisconsin State Journal the breakdown is 220 calls to East, 158 to La Follette, 170 to Memorial and 92 to West. In addition to the raw numbers there were … Continue reading “In the last school year Madison police were called 640 times to Madison’s four high schools”
Chris Rickert: Madison police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer on Friday released a statement saying the attacks reported to city police appeared to be random but committed by the same group of people. The next day, police announced they had arrested four people in the cases but didn’t provide their names until Tuesday. Police typically do not provide the … Continue reading Madison police identify 3 suspects in alleged racially motivated attacks
David Blaska: We can draw no conclusion other than that the school district’s head of security sandbagged police in furtherance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. MMSD describes Aguglia as “committed to teaching and coaching educators in evidence-based critical response with alternative forms of mental health support as a tool to reduce violence in school buildings, promote mental … Continue reading Notes on the taxpayer supported Madison School District Administration’s recent Police interactions
Chris Rickert: 16-year-old charged in beating outside Madison West High School A 16-year-old boy was tentatively charged with substantial battery after he punched another boy in the head outside Madison West High School Monday, police said. Police said the mother of the victim called them just before 3:30 p.m. to report the attack, which the victim did … Continue reading “LeMonds said the victim’s parents called police while at the school, but “it is likely (Madison) West staff would have also.”
Chris Rickert: Having so far failed to hire Madison’s first independent police monitor, Madison’s new Police Civilian Oversight Board voted Thursday to recommend that the City Council effectively use some of the money that had been budgeted for the monitor to provide the board’s leader with a onetime $20,000 honorarium — more than the salary … Continue reading Madison police oversight board mulls thousands of dollars in payments for its members
Elizabeth Beyer: Police responded to an active fight involving dozens of students outside school property at around 11:37 a.m.More than 15 officers were dispatched to the scene and the incident remains an open and active investigation, Madison Police officer Ryan Kimberley said in a statement. Interim Principal Mikki Smith declined to comment and instructed staff who were … Continue reading Watch now: Melee outside Madison East High draws heavy police response, pepper spray, ambulances
David Blaska: The influential Ann of Althouse, retired UW Law school professor and bloggueresse, asks “Why don’t schools call the police when crimes are committed in school?” The short answer is that Madison WI schools a year ago enlisted in the War on Police.With the connivance of Madison’s woke city government, the school board evicted … Continue reading Madison School discipline plan omits police, rewards analysis paralysis
Emily Hamer: After backlash from a November social media photo that showed a “thin blue line” flag displayed in the UW-Madison Police Department’s office, Police Chief Kristen Roman has banned officers from using thin blue line imagery while acting in an official police capacity. Some see the controversial flag as a symbol of solidarity with … Continue reading Civics: UW-Madison Police Chief Kristen Roman bans use of ‘thin blue line’ flag
Elizabeth Beyer: Under Freedom Inc.’s proposal the committee would have complete decision-making power over school safety and accountability policies within the district; oversee all district investigations of student, parent or family member complaints against school staff; and establish a process to protect students against retaliation after filing a complaint, among other measures. Freedom Inc. is … Continue reading Madison mulls safety plans for police-free schools, including student-led oversight panel
Ben Farrell, Lauren Henning and Anna Walters: Editor’s note: This story came about through a partnership between the Cap Times, Local Voices Network and a University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism class. Students analyzed the Cap Times People’s Agenda and chose to report on non-police solutions for community issues, one of the topics readers identified as a priority. Specifically, the student … Continue reading Police-free schools: Security staff step up as Madison strategizes safety
Addison Lathers: To thwart the continued transmission of COVID-19, the Madison Police Department began instituting measures to limit social gatherings in the downtown area with the support of UW-Madison leadership. In a letter sent to downtown apartment buildings, Madison Police Department Acting Chief Victor Wahl said students attending gatherings may be fined a minimum of … Continue reading Madison police tell UW-Madison students they could be fined at least $376 for attending indoor gatherings of more than 10 people
David Blaska: Reyes was one of 40 applicants. The deadline was today. She is a former police officer and, under past mayor Paul Soglin, was deputy mayor for law enforcement. Once an advocate for police in the city’s four troubled high schools, Reyes caved after BLM invaded her residential street this summer and voted to expel … Continue reading Madison School Board President seeks Police Chief Job
Kara Zupkus: The Badger-Herald, an independent student newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, rejected a conservative columnist’s op-ed arguing against defunding the police, claiming “it is too much of a hot take right now” and that it “would cause a lot of backlash.” Editors at the Badger-Herald denied Tripp Grebe’s op-ed on the basis of … Continue reading Civics: UW-Madison student newspaper rejects op-ed opposing defunding police
Elizabeth Beyer & Emily Hamer: West Dayton Street outside of the Madison School District administration building became the latest field where protesters and city employees faced off in a battle of wills Friday morning. The city’s Streets Division crew attempted to remove a mural on the road that read “Police free schools,” which was painted … Continue reading City of Madison attempt to remove ‘Police free schools’ street mural blocked by protesters
Shezad Baloch: Corey Saffold served as a school resource officer for four years at Madison West High School. We asked about the implications of the end of the SRO program and removal of Madison police officers from the schools. Now the head of security at Verona Area School District, he repeatedly said he is only speaking on behalf … Continue reading Former Madison SRO: Removing police from schools unlikely to reduce arrest disparity
Scott Girard: If the vote goes as expected, the 2020-21 school year will be the first in more than two decades without a police officer stationed in each of the district’s comprehensive high schools. Employee Handbook changes Madison Teachers Inc. is organizing opposition to a set of proposed Employee Handbook changes that would change the … Continue reading Madison School Board to vote on Police Presence, layoffs and budget
Scott Girard: The Madison School Board will vote Monday on continuing or ending early its contract with the Madison Police Department to have officers stationed in its four comprehensive high schools. Based on public statements from board members this spring and previous votes, it’s likely the board will vote to end the contract early, though … Continue reading Madison School Board will vote on police contract Monday
Logan Wroge: Madison’s teachers union is shifting its stance on school-based police officers and is now advocating they be taken out of the city’s main high schools — but only if 33 additional support staff are hired. In a statement Sunday, Madison Teachers Inc. said it backs the removal of school resource officers, or SROs, … Continue reading Madison teachers union backs removal of police from high schools
Logan Wroge: Gomez Schmidt’s victory also meant a loss for Madison Teachers Inc., which had endorsed Pearson. Gomez Schmidt had the backing of the current Seat 6 holder, Kate Toews, who decided not to seek reelection. In the other competitive race, though, the union-backed Vander Meulen earned a 20-percentage-point victory over Strong. Gomez Schmidt has … Continue reading Madison School Board winners differ on school-based police; only 1 had union support
Logan Wroge: West High School student was arrested Tuesday after he brought a loaded handgun to the Near West Side school, Madison police said. Tyrese T. Williams, 18, was arrested on a tentative felony charge of possession of a firearm in a school zone, Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said. West High’s school resource officer … Continue reading Madison West High School student found with loaded handgun in school, police say
David Blaska: “Mainstream education is an oppressive institution,” says one supporter If I read this right, Madison police will continue to provide security and positive role models in Madison’s four main public high schools for two more school years. That is because the Madison Board of Education is not considering evicting the school resource officer … Continue reading Notes and links: Police and the Taxpayer supported Madison School District
David Blaska: An E. Lakeside St. homeowner looked out of his window shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday (06-18-19) to see a teenager behind the wheel of his parked car. There were three other young people leaning into the driver’s side window. The victim ran outside, inquiring: “Can I help you guys?” The teens began moving … Continue reading Lawfare & Commentary on Police presence in taxpayer supported Madison Schools
Logan Wroge: Three former elected officials are alleging Madison School Board President Gloria Reyes violated the body’s ethics policy when she voted in favor of a contract that would keep Madison police officers in the district’s high schools. On Tuesday, former City Council members Andy Heidt, Brenda Konkel and Andy Olsen, who also served on … Continue reading Ethics violation alleged in Madison School Board president’s vote to keep police in schools
TABATHA WETHAL: Police said after the event, 15-20 parents and children were involved in an altercation. The school’s resource officer intervened and called for backup. In a letter to Sennett parents Tuesday, Principal Daniel Kigeya described the incident as “two families engaged in a verbal exchange” in the gym that continued as other families exited … Continue reading Families leaving Madison middle school graduation event fight, police respond, officials say
Negassi Tesfamichael: Madison police arrested a 16-year-old boy at La Follette High School on Wednesday morning after a girl told MPD the boy had groped her repeatedly over the course of several weeks in February. The incidents occurred in multiple areas of the school, the girl told police. The student, 15, said she suffered pain … Continue reading Boy arrested at Madison La Follette after repeatedly groping 15-year-old girl, police say
Negassi Tesfamichael: A 12-year-old girl was arrested after an altercation with two Madison police officers at Jefferson Middle School on Wednesday morning, according to Madison Police Department public information officer Joel Despain. The student attempted to fight with the officers, striking one in the mouth and leaving another to be treated for whiplash and shoulder … Continue reading Jefferson Middle School student arrested after allegedly attacking officers, Madison police say
Logan Wroge: Over the past three years at Madison high schools, while arrests have dropped and the number of citations has fluctuated, African-Americans continue to predominantly be those most cited or arrested, according to Madison Police Department data. As the fate of a contract that stations police officers in high schools remains uncertain, Police Chief … Continue reading Madison Police Chief: Scale of ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ has been ‘vastly exaggerated’
Elizabeth Janeczko: The conclusion to renew the contract with MPD has come under criticism from those who oppose the presence of EROs in schools. To some members of the Madison community, the presence of police officers in schools poses physical, psychological and existential threats. Freedom, Inc., a local advocacy group who testified at the committee … Continue reading Do Police Officers Belong in Madison High Schools?
David Blaska: Notice something? The other candidates for Madison school board are beginning to pretend that they always supported keeping police in our four Madison public high schools. But not one of the other candidates used their personal prestige, put their name to a letter, or braved the social justice bullies at a school board … Continue reading On cops in Madison schools, Police Chief Koval offers some advice
Chris Rickert: Some Madison schools will participate next year in a Black Lives Matter event that features a call to “fund counselors, not cops” — despite the School Board’s decision this week to keep police officers in the Madison School District’s four main high schools. Hamilton Middle School said in an email to community members … Continue reading Some Madison schools sign on to Black Lives Matter event that calls for dumping police
Logan Wroge: The Madison School Board on Monday backed a proposed contract that would keep police officers at Madison’s four main high schools. Board members voted 4-2 in favor of the proposed contract, which would emphasize alternative disciplines instead of arresting or citing students, lay the groundwork for a new complaint procedure against the officers … Continue reading Madison School Board backs contract that would keep police officers in high schools
Shelly Mesch and Bill Novak: The school district screened students entering the school Thursday and Friday with metal detector wands as a precaution following the shooting. Joe Balles, safety and security coordinator for the school district, said screening will not need to continue next week but there will be screening for students entering Saturday’s Homecoming … Continue reading Three arrested in shooting near La Follette; alleged shooter not a student, Madison police say
Logan Wroge: A Madison School Board committee on Wednesday scrapped the concept of replacing school-based police officers with a liaison program, while it continued to draft recommendations on the future of the school district’s relationship with the Madison Police Department. A draft report from the committee studying armed and uniformed officers stationed in the Madison … Continue reading Madison schools committee scraps concept of police liaison program
Logan Wroge: Throughout the public comment period, several people said the presence of police officers inside school can negatively affect students of color and feeds into the “school-to-prison pipeline.” “Ain’t no amount of training, ain’t no amount of special certificates is going to matter when it comes to black and brown kids, because (police officers) … Continue reading Madison’s K-12 Governance Non Diversity: Police in Schools Meeting
Logan Wroge: A Madison man has been arrested and banned from Shorewood Hills Elementary School after he handed a piece of cardboard with “gun” written on it to a teacher Thursday morning. Police said there was no danger to the school and didn’t speculate on what the parent’s motive was. Shorewood Hills Police Chief Aaron … Continue reading Parent hands cardboard with ‘gun’ written on it to teacher at Madison school, police say
Abigail Becker: On Tuesday, the Madison School Board and the City Council both voted to sign a contract approving the continued use of educational resource officers in the city’s four high schools. The authorization approves a three-year contract for EROs, with a provision to opt-out after two years. Tuesday’s decision follows last week’s stalemate between … Continue reading Review of Madison Police Department includes recommendations on school-based officers
Chris Rickert: But Madison policy-makers might find they can help reduce police shootings if they spend more time urging their constituents to follow existing rules than by trying to force police to change theirs. Related: Police Calls: Madison Schools 1996-2006.
Brianna Reilly: Two West High School students were arrested Thursday afternoon after an officer stationed at the school took a BB gun from one of them, Madison police said. The students, both 14-year-old boys, were outside the school on Regent Street at 1:25 p.m. when the officer took the gun away from them, Madison police … Continue reading Two Madison West High students arrested, one with BB gun outside school, police say
Jeff Glaze: Seeking flexibility to respond to community dialog over use of school-based police officers, the Madison School Board has proposed a so-called “compromise” to city officials that would keep officers in Madison’s four main high schools, at least for now. The School Board on Tuesday unveiled a proposal intended to meet the city’s demands … Continue reading Madison School Board proposes contract with opt-out for school police officers
Doug Erickson: Also, incidents occurring anywhere on or adjacent to a high school campus or across the street from the campus were captured in the data. So in a handful of cases, district officials said, the person arrested may have been an adult or a juvenile not currently enrolled in the district. Black individuals were … Continue reading A Look At Police Calls To Madison Schools
Madison School District Administration (PDF): MMSD’s goal is to minimize police involvement for minor student infractions that should be managed with the Behavior Education Plan. The District is committed to a non-criminal enforcement model that supports restorative justice concepts, early intervention and problem solving rather than reliance on law enforcement. However, it certainly doesn’t mean … Continue reading Madison Schools’ “Calling the Police” Policy & Related Education Resource Officers (ERO)
In the coming weeks, Madison police dogs will be able to sniff through the halls, bathrooms and parking lots of the city’s middle and high schools if school principals suspect there may be illegal drugs there.
The School Board voted 5-1 Monday to allow the sweeps, which school officials say will help eliminate drug use and trafficking in schools and decrease violence. Annual evaluations will be conducted to assess the program’s effectiveness.
Supporters, including Madison Police Chief Noble Wray, said it could be an effective and color-blind tool as part of a strategy to keep schools safe. The dogs would search for marijuana, heroin and cocaine.
Luis Yudice, coordinator of safety and security for the school district, said one statistic that led officials to consider these searches was the 60 percent increase in student code-of-conduct violations since 2007 occurring because of drugs.
Police estimate there are now more than 1,100 confirmed gang members in Madison and about 40 gangs, about 12 of which are the main Latino gangs.
The Dane County Enhanced Youth Gang Prevention Task Force recommended in August 2007 that a countywide gang coordinator’s position be considered. That group’s co-chairman, former Madison police Capt. Luis Yudice, who’s also security coordinator for the Madison School District, first called for a “comprehensive strategy so we can all work in unison” to address gang violence in September 2005.
Since then, Yudice said, staff in Madison schools are recognizing more issues involving gangs among students, which he attributes in part to greater awareness and training.
“We have gang-involved kids in probably most of our high schools and middle schools and some of our elementary schools,” he said. Staff do a good job of keeping gang activity out of the schools, he said, and work closely with students, families, police and social workers in an effort to keep students out of gangs.
Locally, the gang issue is not unique to Madison schools. “We’re seeing more gang activity in the suburban school districts,” Yudice said, as well as the emergence of hate groups targeting blacks and Latinos in Madison, Deerfield, Cottage Grove and DeForest.
Related: Gangs & School Violence Forum audio, video & links.
Madison police chief Noble Wray wants to send more officers after gang members, and he plans to talk to the mayor next week about an initiative to make that possible.
A recent assessment by the police department’s two-officer Gang Unit indicated more than 900 confirmed Madison gang members and another 500 people considered associates of gang members.
“It is clear the number of young people connected to gangs is on the rise, and we need to respond to that growth,” Wray said in a press release issued Friday.
Many gang members and their associates commit burglaries, robberies, assaults, shootings, and they deal drugs, he said. Wray wants to form a new “Gang/Crime Prevention Unit.”
The unit would work closely with neighborhood officers, community policing teams, detectives and others by tapping the expertise of staffers who analyze crime data.
Related: Gangs & School Violence Forum.
A top Madison Police Department official says the city should reduce or freeze building low-income housing because the tenants are overwhelming police services.
In addition, Jay Lengfeld, captain of the West District, wrote an e-mail to Madison Alderman Thuy Pham-Remmele, 20th District, on Monday in which he suggested the city should license landlords to “weed out the bad ones” and give landlords more leeway to reject applicants with a history of bad behavior.
“The city needs to reduce or freeze the number of subsidized housing units in the city,” he wrote. “The at-risk population in Madison has exceeded the ability of service providers to service them.”
Lengfeld’s comments, part of an exchange of e-mails between Lengfeld and Pham-Remmele over quality of life issues on the West Side, sparked the wrath of at least one affordable housing advocate.
Total police calls to Madison’s four main high schools declined 38 percent from the fall semester of 2006 to last spring. But those figures tell only a partial story, and not a very meaningful one.
That’s because the numbers include all police calls, including ones for 911 disconnects, parking lot crashes and stranded baby ducks. (It happened at La Follette last May.)
The State Journal then looked at police calls in eight categories closely related to safety — aggravated batteries, batteries, weapons offenses, fights, bomb threats, disturbances, robberies and sexual assaults. Those calls are down 46 percent from fall 2006 to spring 2008.
The schools varied little last spring in the eight categories. Memorial and West each had 13 such calls, La Follette 14 and East 16.
School officials are relieved by the downward trend but careful not to read too much into the figures.
“We know there’s almost a cyclical nature to crime statistics and even to individual behavior,” said Luis Yudice, who is beginning his third year as district security coordinator.
Art Camosy, a veteran science teacher at Memorial, said he thinks the climate is improving at his school. Yet he views the police figures skeptically, in part because the numbers are “blips in time” but also because he wonders if the district’s central office is behind the drop.
“Are our building administrators being pressured not to call police as often?” he asks.
John Matthews, the longtime executive director of Madison Teachers Inc. (MTI), the district’s teachers union, contends that the district’s leadership has indeed done this from time to time, directing building administrators to hold off on calling police so often.
Yudice, a former Madison police captain, said there was a time years ago when the district was extremely sensitive about appearing to have a large police presence at its schools. He rejects that notion now.
“It’s just the opposite,” he said. “We are more openly acknowledging that we have issues that need to be dealt with by the police. Since I’ve been working here, there has never been a directive to me or the school principals to minimize the involvement of police.”
All four Madison high schools feature an open campus. It appears that Erickson only reviewed calls to the High Schools, not those nearby. 1996-2006 police calls near Madison High Schools is worth a look along with the Gangs & School violence forum.
Finally, I hope that the Madison Police Department will begin publishing all police calls online, daily, so that the public can review and evaluate the information.
Making connections among various types of crimes and ways to remedy them was the theme of the night as Police Chief Noble Wray gave a talk on public safety in Madison to the City Council Wednesday night.
Statistically, crime in Madison was a mixed bag in 2007, Wray said. While overall crime was up 5.5 percent from 2006, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, that increase stemmed primarily from an 8.3 percent increase in property crimes such as burglary, theft and arson. By contrast, violent crime, which includes acts such as homicide, rape and aggravated assault, decreased 14.2 percent in 2007.
Wray explained that the rising rates of property crimes came from the increased theft of precious metals, in particular copper, as well as thefts of big-ticket items such as televisions from businesses, which were directly related to gang activity and the drug trade, he said.
“This is the first time that I’ve noticed this, and I’ve worked for the Madison department for 24 years, that there is a serious gang connection with these (burglaries),” he said. “We haven’t had that in the past.”
Related:
Madison School District Safety Coordinator Luis Yudice (Luis is a retired Police Officer and a East High Grad) at a recent West High School neighborhood crime discussion (10/18/2007):
“Big picture perspective:
Our community really has changed a lot within the past five years. I sense a great deal of stress within the police department.
Citywide issues
Increasing violence involving girls. He has looked at a lot of data with the District Attorney’s office. Girls are extremely angry.
Angry parents are coming into the schools.
Increasing issues in the neighborhood that end up in the schools. Mentioned South Transfer Point beating and that Principal Ed Holmes mediated the situation at an early stage.
Growing gang violence issue particularly in the east side schools. We do have gang activity at Memorial and West but most of the issues are at Lafollete and East. Dealing with this via training and building relationships
What the school are experiencing is a reflection of what is going on in the community.”
Madison Police Chief Noble Wray, via Bill Lueders @ Isthmus (7/30/2008):
He (Wray) began by talking about perceptions of crime, and especially the notion that it’s getting worse in Madison. He stressed that it wasn’t just the media and public who felt this way: “If I would ask the average beat cop, I think they would say it’s gotten worse.” But, he added, “Worse compared to what?”
The absence of local safety data spurred several SIS contributors to obtain and publish the police call data displayed below. Attorney and parent Chan Stroman provided pro bono public records assistance. Chan’s work on this matter extended to the Wisconsin Attorney General’s office.
A few important notes on this data:
| Police Calls within .25 miles of: | |||||
| Madison East Area | Edgewood Area | LaFollette Area | Memorial Area | West Area | |
| 1996 | 1285 | 392 | 324 | 869 | 728 |
| 1997 | 1351 | 455 | 403 | 896 | 750 |
| 1998 | 1340 | 343 | 488 | 875 | 703 |
| 1999 | 1281 | 352 | 477 | 969 | 772 |
| 2000 | 1391 | 300 | 528 | 888 | 933 |
| 2001 | 1476 | 305 | 480 | 769 | 1034 |
| 2002 | 1470 | 363 | 491 | 886 | 1019 |
| 2003 | 1362 | 349 | 403 | 865 | 921 |
| 2004 | 1455 | 346 | 449 | 989 | 1012 |
| 2005 | 1311 | 325 | 465 | 994 | 917 |
| 2006 | 1221 | 330 | 389 | 1105 | 838 |
| Weapons Incident / Offense | |||||
| Madison East Area | Edgewood Area | LaFollette Area | Memorial Area | West Area | |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 1997 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1998 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 1999 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 2000 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 2003 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 4 |
| 2005 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| 2006 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 3 |
| Drug Incident | |||||
| Madison East Area | Edgewood Area | LaFollette Area | Memorial Area | West Area | |
| 1996 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
| 1997 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 4 |
| 1998 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| 1999 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 4 |
| 2000 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 17 | 12 |
| 2001 | 18 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 12 |
| 2002 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 12 |
| 2003 | 23 | 2 | 18 | 15 | 8 |
| 2004 | 26 | 0 | 20 | 17 | 7 |
| 2005 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 20 | 12 |
| 2006 | 24 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 8 |
| Arrested Juvenile | |||||
| Madison East Area | Edgewood Area | LaFollette Area | Memorial Area | West Area | |
| 1996 | 59 | 1 | 35 | 28 | 38 |
| 1997 | 72 | 0 | 83 | 52 | 29 |
| 1998 | 21 | 0 | 34 | 17 | 14 |
| 1999 | 16 | 0 | 29 | 24 | 7 |
| 2000 | 42 | 0 | 76 | 14 | 15 |
| 2001 | 52 | 0 | 66 | 19 | 15 |
| 2002 | 51 | 0 | 69 | 13 | 12 |
| 2003 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 3 |
| 2004 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
| 2005 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| 2006 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 11 | 4 |
| Bomb Threat | |||||
| Madison East Area | Edgewood Area | LaFollette Area | Memorial Area | West Area | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 2000 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 1 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| 2002 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 2004 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
All is well after an incident earlier today when police responded to a “gun” call at Sherman Middle School. According to the Madison Police Department “an 11-year-old student discharged a cap gun inside the boy’s locker room.” While the gun was lime green students passing by only heard the sound of the cap gun discharging. Full report below:
Madison Parent’s School Safety Site:
When there’s violence at school, parents want answers to their questions about school safety. If parents are told “our school is safer than other schools”, where’s the data that supports that vague reassurance? Police call-for-service data (as posted on this site from time to time) is one indicator of school crime, but it’s only part of the picture, and may not be a reliable basis of comparing school to school – or even comparing whether the safety situation in one particular school is improving or deteriorating.
We looked at police call data for East, LaFollette, Memorial and West High Schools in 2001-02, and in 2005-06. (Data notes: This data was obtained by public records request to the Madison Police Department. Due to the format in which the data was provided, the call totals for each school are for calls made to the block in which each school is located, rather than the specific street address of the school. Calls for each year were tallied over a July 1 through June 30 period in order to track the corresponding school years used for comparison below. Variations in school enrollment between the comparison years aren’t reported here since they don’t appear to affect the analysis or conclusions, but that information is readily accessible on the DPI web site. The DPI web site is also the source of the discipline data presented below.)
Madison Parent: The tables linked below summarize Madison Police Department calls for service to MMSD schools from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007, as follows: The tables linked below summarize Madison Police Department calls for service to MMSD schools from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007, as follows: By call dateBy school, subgrouped … Continue reading Police calls for Madison schools, July 2006-June 2007
Brittany Schoepp: Children seeing people run from police through their backyard, waking up to the sound of a gunshots, watching drug deals. These were some of the scenes described by West and Southwest Side residents as hundreds of them turned out Wednesday to voice their concerns about crime in their neighborhoods at a meeting with … Continue reading Madison Police Chief Hears About West Side Crime
Madison Parent: Madison Police Department Chief Noble Wray spoke on downtown safety at the monthly meeting of Downtown Madison, Inc. on June 28, 2007, and also briefly addressed the topic of gang activity in Madison schools during the program, as reported in The Capital Times (via the MadCrime101 blog, a welcome and valuable new resource … Continue reading Madison Police Chief on Gangs in Schools
Madison Parents’ School Safety Site: The charts below (click on each thumbnail to enlarge) summarize Madison Police Department calls for service to MMSD schools from September 1 through December 31, 2006. The data is summarized by school below the fold. Data like this provides a starting point for getting a sense of the type and … Continue reading Police calls for Madison schools – September through December 2006
Bill Lueders and Jason Shepherd: In the 2004-05 school year, police were summoned to Madison schools more than 1,500 times and made nearly 400 arrests, mostly of students. Recently Isthmus writer Jason Shepard went through raw data of police reports to compile spreadsheets of police calls and arrests, arranged by school. One resulting finding — … Continue reading Police and Madison Schools
WiSJ: Madison police last week unveiled its 2023 crime numbers, which showed that violent crimes like robberies declined from the previous year. But some crimes, including homicides, went up. So it safer in Madison than it was a decade ago? Here are the numbers since 2013, broken down by crime. Homicides in Madison There were … Continue reading Lates Madison crime data
Ed Treleven: Madison East High School student who was arrested at school last week was charged Tuesday with bringing what police described as a loaded “ghost gun” to school in his backpack. A criminal complaint charged Marquise M. Johnson, 17, with possession of a firearm on school grounds, resisting police and causing substantial bodily harm … Continue reading Madison East student charged with possessing a gun at school
Hope Karnopp A spokeswoman for the Madison Police Department said Thursday there were no updates in the case. Police had planned to reexamine the case if more information became available and discuss internet safety with the girl and her mother if they were identified. The police department’s Special Victims Unit reviewed the photo depicting the … Continue reading A 10 year old girl and Madison’s naked bike ride
Kayla Huynh: Students’ usual feelings of excitement toward the start of the school year have been marred by anxiety after an unknown number of assailants brutally attacked a University of Wisconsin-Madison student downtown Sunday. At the university’s convocation event Tuesday, marking the beginning of thousands of incoming students’ college careers, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said it … Continue reading An attack on a UW Madison student
Scott Girard: The Madison Metropolitan School District is “committed to doing the hard work and restoring the integrity” of its communications team following the release of an employee complaint against spokesperson Tim LeMonds last Friday. In an unsigned statement posted to its website Thursday and sent via email to reporters by Communications Manager Ian Folger, the district said it … Continue reading Taxpayer funded Madison School District‘s “communications” department review
Scott Girard: The debate also featured discussions about how high-density developments affect Madison Metropolitan School District’s student population and whether it is time to bring police back into schools. Reyes said there is concern among some residents that large housing developments taking place all over the city are pricing some families out of areas and … Continue reading Madison mayor election and the taxpayer supported k-12 schools
Ed Treleven: Court Commissioner Karie Cattanach set bail at $7,000. According to the complaint: Police had been called to Sherman earlier for a fight, and some of the same officers were then called to the fight at Warner Park. One of the combatants told police that after the fight at Sherman, she received a call … Continue reading 16-year-old girl charged with attempted homicide after boy in Madison was stabbed in the heart
Scott Girard: As mayor, she would not have unilateral authority to put officers in schools. The school resource officer program, originally begun in the 1990s, operated on a contract between the city of Madison and the Madison Metropolitan School District. Both sides voted to terminate it in summer 2020 amid nationwide and local protests over police brutality of … Continue reading 2023 Madison Mayoral election: School governance makes a rare appearance?
Scott Girard Vander Meulen has faced an opponent in each of her two previous campaigns. In 2017, Ed Hughes was on the ballot but dropped out of the race following a health issue in his family and in 2020, the late Wayne Strong ran against her, but suspended his campaign amid his own health issues before returning … Continue reading Commentary on the 2023 Madison School Board elections (2 seats). Achievement?
Olivia Herken: A fight between students and a loud popping noise that alarmed the crowd caused the La Follette High School homecoming dance to end early Saturday night, according to Principal Mat Thompson. At about 8:45 p.m. a physical altercation broke out between two students, according to a letter that Thompson sent to families late … Continue reading Madison LaFollette Homecoming dance ends early due to fight and “popping” noise
Chris Rickert: A state-authorized public charter school in Madison initially refused to work with police after a student found a gun in a school employee’s backpack, according to a recently released police report, and the employee refused to answer questions about the incident. Police ultimately closed their investigation of the June 1 incident involving Milestone Democratic … Continue reading Madison public charter school mostly mum on gun found in employee’s backpack
David Blaska: This Wednesday 09-07-22, Khari Sanford will be sentenced in Dane County Circuit Court for the execution-style slaying of Dr. Beth Potter and her husband Robin Carre. They were murdered by a person they had tried to help,” their memorial obituary reads. Khari Sanford was 18 years old on March 30, 2020 when he entered the … Continue reading Did Woke Madison help murder Beth Potter and Robin Carre?
Captain Beckett: Last Friday, gun shots rang out in the West District. When this happens, dispatch airs alert tones over our air indicating that something serious has happened. Sometimes it’s a panic alarm, sometimes it is someone armed with a weapon during a fight and sometimes it is someone with a gun. After 17 years … Continue reading West Side Madison Gunshots and families
David Blaska: If you doubt that the Woke Wobblies have taken over Madison’s public schools, we submit the following: School board president Ali Muldrow and immediate past member Ananda Mirilli are accusing Ismael Ozanne, a black man, of racism most foul. They want him to resign (!!!) because police arrested Freedom Inc. spokesperson Jessica Williams … Continue reading Race and the Taxpayer Funded Madison School District
David Blaska: Were they just hoping problem would go away? Now the Madison school board is developing a committee to study school safety. NOW? Today? Five months after a widespread brawl at East high school induced one-third of the student body to shelter at home for safety? Two years after defunding school resource police officers? And all the … Continue reading Advocating a “study on stupidity”: Madison school crime edition
Elizabeth Beyer: In the video taken Monday at East and later removed from Facebook, a student verbally confronts another student in a classroom before physically attacking the student, and eventually tackling the student onto a table, which subsequently buckles. Another person is seen in the video attempting to separate the two students, but it’s unclear … Continue reading Notes on a recent School brawl at Madison East High School
Scott Girard: Despite taking that student into custody, the school received another “threatening call” on Friday, according to an email to Memorial families from principal Matt Hendrickson. The school has received at least one such call each day this week, but police investigations have found none of them to be credible. “MPD is continuing a … Continue reading One arrest made in threats to Madison’s Memorial High School
Scott Girard: Blaska announced his candidacy in a blog post (link!! not present in the article) on Friday. The longtime critic of the Madison School Board wrote that “Madison voters unhappy with the direction of Madison’s public schools ought to be able to register a protest vote.” He included a list of solutions that is … Continue reading Commentary on David Blaska’s 2022 Madison School Board campaign, no links, however
David Blaska David Blaska is running for Madison school board after all. No, his name won’t be on the ballot because he is a write-in for Seat #4. That’s the one occupied by school board president Ali Muldrow. We were opponents three years ago and Ali (truly a lovely young lady in many ways) beat me handily. … Continue reading 2022 Write in candidate for the taxpayer supported Madison School Board
Emily Hamer: Madison police were called to respond to a lunchtime fight between East High School students Wednesday off campus, but students began to dissipate just before officers arrived, according to the school’s interim principal. While only a few students were involved in the physical altercation near the parking lot of Milio’s Sandwiches, 2202 E. Johnson … Continue reading Off campus Madison East high fight
Vince Bielski: This alternative method of discipline, called “restorative practices,” is spreading across the country – and being put to the test. Many schools are enduring sharp increases in violence following the return of students from COVID lockdowns, making this softer approach a higher-stakes experiment in student safety. “Kids are getting into more fights and … Continue reading “Most high schools would have referred the chain-wielding girl to the police…”
Chris Rickert: Nearly three weeks after La Follette High School students reportedly beat a special-needs classmate so badly at the Southeast Side school that he could require surgery, police made an arrest in the case Wednesday and anticipate making another one. Tayshon J. Ross, 17, of Madison, is tentatively charged with felony substantial battery in … Continue reading 3 weeks after Madison La Follette High School attack, an arrest is made
Ann Althouse: [H]e began looking at the public social media pages of members of Madison’s Police Civilian Oversight Board [and found]… “29 separate instances of biased, defamatory statements — occasionally containing obscene language — impugning my race, gender and former profession, among the social media accounts of seven out of the 11 voting members in … Continue reading Civics: Discrimination and lawfare: Madison edition
Chris Rickert: Two Madison La Follette High School students arrested after fight Two Madison La Follette High School students are facing charges after beating a 15-year-old classmate so badly Thursday afternoon that he will likely need surgery, police said. Police said the victim told them a group of students was making fun of him before … Continue reading Two Madison La Follette High School students arrested after fight
David Blaska: Neighbors here on the SW side are outraged that the so-called safety coordinator for our public schools blows off police trying to track down kids showing off their illegal firearms in a stolen car a block away from Madison East high school. Doesn’t return their phone calls. Refuses to share photographic evidence with … Continue reading Notes on taxpayer supported Madison K-12 School District Crime and achievement governance
Chris Rickert: The mother of the victim, identified only as “Erin” in the WMTV-TV news report, said the school did not call police about the attack. LeMonds said that was accurate but that the school called the victim’s parents, who came to the school and called police themselves. He said the school would have called … Continue reading ‘That’s not going to happen’: Report says Madison East High leader objected to charging students after assault
Ed Treleven: An 18-year-old La Follette High School student accused of bringing a loaded gun to the Madison school last week was charged Monday with two gun possession-related charges, and also faces six additional new unrelated criminal cases. The seven new cases against Marquan Webb, of Madison, brings to 11 the number of criminal cases … Continue reading Madison La Follette student charged with bringing loaded gun to school, jailed on $30,500 bail
Chris Rickert: “As a community, we should be extremely concerned over a 13-year-old driving a stolen car, during rush hour, while high on (marijuana),” Hanson wrote. “Everybody’s kind of numb, and we can’t be,” he added during the interview with the State Journal. The vehicle was reported stolen on Monday, police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said, … Continue reading Intoxicated 13-year-old arrested after crashing stolen car at a Madsion Beltline off-ramp, police say
Lucas Robinson: Tavion Flowers, 18, was taken into custody after school security learned he had a firearm, Sgt. Jesse Christensen said in a statement. While security staff took Flowers into the parking lot, he was detained and the .40-caliber pistol fell out of his waistband, Christensen said. Officers responded to the school around 12:37 p.m. after the … Continue reading Verona High student arrested with loaded, semi-automatic handgun at school, police say
Elizabeth Beyer: Travis Dobson, a parent of two East students and an assistant varsity football coach, said the school is out of control and the building administration is under an all-hands-on-deck situation constantly. He said he has another child who is nearing high school age but he is considering taking his children out of the … Continue reading Commentary on taxpayer supported Madison Schools Governance and Safety Climate
Rhonda Foxx: “I thought that at some point in time, this might be an inevitability when the district decided to move away from having school resource officers,” said Mike Koval, Madison’s former Police Chief. Koval is talking about the school district’s decision to remove resource officers from its four high schools last year. “I think … Continue reading School violence prompts calls for resource officers to be returned to Madison safety plan
Elizabeth Beyer: Michael Johnson, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, said the conflicts are likely driven by a combination of factors, including the city and school district’s move to pull police officers, known as school resource officers, or SROs, out of the high schools without a solid plan for … Continue reading Madison K-12 Governance amidst Fights at East High School
Logan Rude, Brad Hamilton More than 600 students did not show up for classes on Tuesday, the district said, more than one-third of the total 1,717 students enrolled at East. As of noon, 277 were excused and 325 had not shown up and were not excused, though secretaries were still updating records at that time. … Continue reading One-third of students stay home following Monday fights at Madison East High School
Wisconsin State Journal: But the open seat on the Madison School Board was created when the board president retired after being taunted in foul ways outside her private home. Can you blame her? A school board member in Beaver Dam similarly resigned this fall, citing safety concerns for his family. Madison’s schools were closed most … Continue reading Commentary on the 2022 Madison School Election
Dave Cieslewicz: Removing police from Madison’s public high schools never made any sense. It was destined for disaster. Today’s news brings evidence that the disaster is upon us. On Wednesday afternoon about 100 people brought an altercation that began inside East High School onto a street that borders the school. Ten Madison cops and a supervisor had to … Continue reading Get Cops Back in (Madison) Schools
Jeff Richgels: More than 10 police officers and a supervisor responded to fights amid a crowd of more than 100 students and parents outside East High School Wednesday afternoon, Madison police said. Police found no one with injuries from the incident, although several people left the scene shortly after police arrived, Officer Ryan Kimberley said in … Continue reading Madison East High School Fight among 100
David Blaska: Wisconsin law is clear. If violence breaks out in school, you call the police and you call them first thing. Madison’s public schools violated state statue when it did not call in the police after an East high school sophomore was pummeled by two assailants as he sat at his desk. We’re not the only … Continue reading K-12 School crimes, Madison and the law
David Blaska: Now WMTV-15 is showing student-captured smart phone video of fights, including a one-sided assault at Madison East high school. The latter shows a Madison East sophomore attacked by two other students who ran into his classroom as he sat in the front row. It appears they were not fellow classmates but entered the classroom to … Continue reading With no cops, student fighting roils Madison’s high schools
Tajma Hall: The mother says she doesn’t understand how a fight can happen in a classroom. Video of that fight and others showing highlights of several recent fights at Madison schools are circulating among students. The videos also raise questions about district policy, and student safety, now that school resource officers are no longer in … Continue reading Madison Mom worried for son’s safety after school fight at East High School
Hey Madison! If you see a black Toyota Corolla, #210-ZLP driving around… that’s mine, not the driver’s, and I’d love it if you gave police a call with the car’s whereabouts. RT, thanks 🙄😑 (not a joke.) — Naomi Kowles (@NaomiKowles) September 18, 2021
Chris Rickert: The Madison School District is considering whether to remove the word “Karen” from a section of its online student enrollment form where parents can identify their children’s ethnicity, apparently after some expressed concerns about its modern-day connotations. But if it does, the district wouldn’t be able to collect information on more than 30 … Continue reading Madison’s k-12 enrollment ethnic label commentary