Community Safety Intervention Team (CSIT)
This team of people from multiple agencies responds to incidents of violence in the community. We collaborate and share information about incidents of violence to:
- Develop strategies which could prevent further violence
- Examine what may be causing the issues in our community
We meet at least weekly to make sure our response to critical incidents serves the immediate needs of those involved, and of the community.
Read our Annual Report
Read our latest Quarterly Report
Isthmus Safety Initiative
We coordinate this federal grant funded program to prevent gun crime and sexual violence in the State Street area of Madison.
Our Action Plan
Our Advisory Council, made up of community members and business owners, led the creation of an action plan. They identified the State Street area as the downtown crime hot spot using:
- Data from the Madison Police Department
- Experiences of Advisory Council members, which includes downtown businesses, organizations, and community members
- Information from a community survey
Based on research on the drivers of crime, best practices for violence prevention, and the above information, the Council:
- Chose to address gun crime and sexual violence
- Identified what is driving gun crime and sexual violence in the State Street area
- Selected strategies to address drivers of gun crime and sexual violence
What We're Working On
- Bystander awareness training for bar and restaurant staff in the State Street area.
- Staff will learn how to notice, identify, and safely intervene in situations of sexual violence and gun violence. Trainings began in January, 2023. Fill out a form if you're interested in this training!
- Improving safety in the State Street area through additional lighting and replacing security cameras.
Community Violence Intervention Program
Our staff is trained in outreach and community engagement strategies, including de-escalation techniques. We focus on interrupting violence in our community through:
- Community engagement. We build connections in communities with high violent crime rates.
- Outreach and brief interventions. We connect with people being released from custody about their safety and re-entry needs.
- Support services and community connections. We support people in solving conflicts without firearms, getting help, and follow up on their progress.
Our goals
- Support people through behavior change, planning for their safety, and connecting them to resources and services.
- Create community relationships to provide stability and support for people affected by violence.
- Build community leadership and engagement to prevent future violence and increase safety.
We determine our areas of focus by using:
- Violent crime data
- Information from our Community Safety Intervention Team about where violence is happening
- Assessments of incidents
- Other identified trends or needs
Other Community Violence Prevention Initiatives
Parks Alive!
Parks Alive! is a series of summer events that bring together people who live in Madison and community and government service providers. The goal is to help build strong neighborhoods, which are important to public safety and are part of our Roadmap to Reducing Violence. Learn more about these events from Madison Parks.
