Amid one of the toughest city and county budgets the Madison area has seen in years, officials said they want to alleviate public concern while attempting to fix gaps in the criminal justice system.
At a public listening session held Sunday night at High Point Church on the city's west side, leaders from the Madison Police Department, Fire Department, Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office explained to residents the many fiscal issues they are currently facing.
Dane County Supervisor Dianne Hesselbein said the county is in need of major funds, even moreso than the city.
MPD Chief Noble Wray focused on the operating budget, and said there are many nonprofit organizations being threatened that could hurt the quality of service the department offers.
Wray said Safe Harbor, which allows the police to interview children that are in traumatic and abusive situations, along with the Rape Crisis Center and other domestic abuse intervention programs, allow officers to do their job in a more humane and sensitive manner.
According to Wray, officers rarely arrest repeat offenders who are not already on probation. This makes funding for the Department of Corrections also extremely critical.
Wray also said the MPD is in the process of putting officers in administrative positions back in the field to focus in on two areas: gang prevention and improving crime prevention strategies, such as neighborhood watch programs.
Another unit in jeopardy is the district attorney's office. According to Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, they are 150 prosecutors short statewide and there are 254 open cases per prosecutor.
Blanchard praised the staff of social workers, investigators, attorneys and secretaries, but said with limited funding there is a reduced quality of law enforcement. He said the more time a prosecutor has per trial, the better quality for justice.
For residents present at the meeting, however, routine problems downtown were also factors of concern.
One Madison resident spoke out against the many bar fights, along with Halloween and the Mifflin Street Block Party.
Wray said the MPD would be switching to a five-shift officer rotation plan in 2010 to better combat the many resources being pulled to the central area of the city.
