ROVING COPS WILL MEAN SAFER CITY

House parties. Pedestrian safety. Drug violence. Vandalism. Vehicle theft.
Cruising. Speeding.

Each of these problems is the top public safety priority of residents in at
least one Madison neighborhood. But how can all of these legitimate
problems be at the top of the list for a city police department pressed
just to respond to emergencies 24/7?

Big changes in how Madison polices itself should help relieve this intense
competition for police time and personnel. Later this month, three new
roving teams of officers will begin working among the city's five
geographic districts. The reorganization is potentially controversial
because the teams' 17 officers and three sergeants will be pulled from
groups specializing in traffic enforcement and drug and gang crime.

Nevertheless, this redeployment should help police respond more quickly and
effectively to priorities that vary significantly by neighborhood. In the
Allied Drive area, for example, the reorganization should result in more
visible neighborhood officers and also help set up cooperative policing
efforts with neighboring Fitchburg.

For drug dealers and reckless drivers, the long arm of the law will stretch
just as far. The investigative arm of the drug and gang task force -
including undercover officers - remains on the job. Speeders, especially
commuters, will still get pinched by a daytime squad devoted to traffic
enforcement.

But the other officers, rather than work only on drug or traffic problems,
will roam at the direction of district commanders. Because most problems
are neighborhood-based, not citywide, the new teams will help police
respond quickly to citizen complaints, back up regular patrol officers,
form a search dragnet, or mobilize to handle a major unanticipated incident
or a pattern of crimes. Police eventually envision a team for each of the
five police districts if staffing and budget allow it.

Madison residents cannot expect any police department reorganization, no
matter how sweeping, to head off every threat to life or property. But the
reorganization is prompted by cops' commitment to citizen priorities, and
the changes should make city neighborhoods safer - without socking
taxpayers with new bills.