Alder concerned by violent summer on Madison’s north side
MADISON, Wis. – Following a string of violent crimes on Madison’s north side, an area alder is raising concern for people who live in that neighborhood who are worried about bullets flying into their homes.
The most recent incident according to Madison police was a homicide early Friday morning, after a masked man breaking into an apartment on Packers Avenue was shot and killed by someone inside the home.
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In the past two months, 17% of Madison’s incident reports that involved violence, drug crimes, or burglaries happened within one mile of that area.
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It’s enough to have District 12 Alderman Syed Abbas pushing to provide the Madison Police Department with more funding to improve criminal investigations and community policing.
“(We need to) really make sure police is doing the most important thing to protect people, rather than taking those calls which are not criminal in nature,” he said. “Those calls should go to a different department.”
Abbas wants his fellow council members to review the overall police budget and reconsider what the city spends its money on.
Still, he understands for some in his community, trust in the police has been damaged.
“The police need to work really hard to establish [trust], but at the same time our responsibility as elected officials is to look into various things,” Abbas said, “where we need police and where we don’t need police, what type of training we need.”
He also said a big part of the solution should also focus on mental health and rehabilitation services because what people in his district are raising the most concern about are drug issues, which he said often lead to violence.
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