Although recent crimes in the downtown area have made Madison residents wary about safety, a new crime-ranking survey reveals that Wisconsin's capital might be in better shape than many other cities in the state and nation.
The CQ Press, a group that publishes an annual analysis of nationwide city crime rankings, put Madison at the No. 263 spot on its 2008-'09 list - the lowest among other cities in Wisconsin included in the survey. Milwaukee came in at No. 25, Racine at No. 160, Green Bay at No. 225 and Kenosha at No. 249.
On a national scale, New Orleans had the highest crime ranking in the survey, while Ramapo, N.Y., a suburb of New York City, came in last. The rankings are compiled from city crime statistics, including incidents of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor-vehicle theft.
According to a CQ Press news release, the group dubbed results of the survey as the safest"" and ""dangerous"" cities in past years, but decided those adjectives were better used to describe perception of safety within the communities and decided to stick with a simple ranking of the data.
For many Madison residents, the perception of safety in the downtown area has been compromised after a string of recent violent robberies and several homicides within the last year.
Madison Police Department public information officer Joel DeSpain said the arrival of more drugs and gangs 20 to 25 years ago began changing the city's crime landscape into what it is today.
""You've got more of those issues that I think were at one time thought to not be part of Madison's fabric,"" DeSpain said.
Another concern facing Madison's crime over the years is location - problems that were once confined to certain neighborhoods in Madison have spread throughout the city and created a perception of increased crime.
DeSpain pointed out a rash of residential and commercial burglaries as a hurdle the city is trying to overcome - an issue that sparked police to create a specific task force to crack the problem. He said city leaders and residents alike must continue to be proactive in dealing with illegal activity throughout the community.
""It's a true challenge,"" DeSpain said of combating crime in the city. ""But Madison's been pretty good at beating the challenge in the past.""
