The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department (UWPD) opened its doors to the Madison community Wednesday, Sept. 9 for an open house during UW-Madison's Welcome Week event schedule.
Speciality divisions, guided tours, free food and the opportunity to learn more about UW-Madison's campus police drew a crowd to the UWPD’s Monroe Street office. The event gave students and community members the chance to interact with officers, ask questions and learn more about the department.
“We've seen a real awesome mix of people here getting to learn about us and introduce ourselves, give us and them an open forum to directly ask questions,” Marc Lovicott, UWPD Executive Director of Communications, told the Daily Cardinal.
Outside the realm of traditional table setups, UWPD featured drones, free food trucks and department horses on the scene for those in attendance to interact with. Attendees walked from station to station speaking with detectives, special operations units and department support services.
Lovicott called the event a success, not just based on turnout, but in the interactions the community had with the officers.
“We cover all sorts of topics, and witnessing and being a part of those conversations to me, is a huge indicator of how successful this is,” Lovicott said. “We had a gentleman come up earlier who wanted to talk a little bit more about [Automatic License Plate Readers] and Flock cameras and some of the decisions that went into us ending our contract with Flock.”
The UWPD announced their decision not to renew their Flock Safety contract in a statement on July 3. The decision came after months of public backlash over privacy and data sharing concerns. The Dane County Sheriff's Office cut funding for their Flock camera implementation in April.
Not only does the open house bring the opportunity for the community to interact with officers, but it gives the UWPD an opportunity to share what exactly goes into their job.
“One of the things as the communications director, I try to find ways to humanize our department,” Lovicott said.
Lovicott spoke about how often there can be a barrier between officers and the community, whether it be misconceptions or personal history.
“You see a police officer in a badge; you may have lived experiences that automatically make you go in a certain direction,” Lovicott said, “one big misconception that we battle is we’re just a police department, and we’re just there to enforce the laws. It’s [also] about being a part of the community and making sure everyone’s safe.”
Lovicott said the department's primary focus is safety, and their main purpose is not centered on enforcing the laws.
The department organizes a number of opportunities for students and community members to learn more about them beyond the bi-annual open house.
“We have a ride-along program, so people can sign up to do a ride-along with a police officer on any given night, and they can experience what our officers see and what they work on every day,” Lovicott said.
Lovicott highlighted how preconceived notions are a big challenge in connecting with the community.
“We’re not scary. Even though they got badges, they're, you know, real people,” Lovicott said.
