We acknowledge the cumulative weight of our history
Like many institutions in the United States, policing has an uneven history. A legacy of harm persists in systems, hearts and minds today. There are reasons why those we serve from marginalized communities experience fear, anxiety and anger when it comes to police. Some examples:
Black & Latinx people disproportionately experience use of force by police officers
Additionally, research shows police officers are more likely to stop Black and Latinx people multiple times annually compared to White people. When they do, trends suggest police officers speak significantly less respectfully to Black people than White people irrespective of officer race, severity of the infraction and outcome of the stop.
LGBTQ individuals are overrepresented at every level of the criminal justice system, from juvenile justice to parole
Additionally, research finds transgender people of color report higher rates of harassment during contacts with police than White transgender people.
UWPD is not immune as it relates to the problematic history of policing
Understanding our own tainted history and creating mechanisms for continuous assessment and improvement is essential to cultivating community trust.
* see data collected by Gallup here
** see report by The Sentencing Project here
Welcome to the Conversation
On behalf of all of us at the UW-Madison Police Department, thank you for taking the time to learn about the work we do to keep our campus community safe.
This dashboard is the result of more than a year of collaboration through our Racial Equity Initiative. We’ve worked hard with our Police Advisory Council and various community stakeholders to find ways that our department can be even more transparent about our work on the UW-Madison campus. The UWPD Equity Dashboard is one of those ways. It’s a means to present key data sets about our department, the calls we respond to, complaints, and more – all with a laser-focus on equity.
We hope you find the dashboard useful and a demonstration of our never-ending commitment to building trust and deepening partnerships. Again, welcome to the conversation – we’re glad you’re here.
A few points to consider…
- The data presented in this dashboard is updated quarterly.
- Our data collection processes are reviewed by three separate accreditation bodies to ensure accuracy and integrity.
- We commit to finding ways to continuously improve the Equity Dashboard — as such, your feedback is appreciated.
UWPD: Our People
Diversity is a value at UWPD and, consistent with UW-Madison’s statement on diversity, we view it as a strength that improves our ability to serve our campus community. We are committed to ensuring our entire department appropriately reflects the campus community across a range of backgrounds and identities. View our current organizational chart here.
Data shown is from 2021
police calls for service
Initiated Calls
Officer Initiated (Proactive)
Community Initiated (Reactive)
These calls highlighted based on community feedback, frequently asked questions and local/national trends
traffic stops
By Gender
Female
Male
Officers may utilize a category of “Unknown” when gender and/or race are not disclosed, reported, or known by the officer. For this reason, some totals may not equal 100%
Time of Day
Affiliation
UW-affiliate
Non-affiliate
Enforcement Outcome
Did traffic stops generate complaints?
Traffic Stops by Race
Traffic Stops by Ethnicity
Reason For Stop
citations
By Gender
Female
Male
Officers may utilize a category of “Unknown” when gender and/or race are not disclosed, reported, or known by the officer. For this reason, some totals may not equal 100%
Age
Affiliation
UW-affiliate
Non-affiliate
Did citations generate complaints?
Time of Day
Citations by Race
Citations by Ethnicity
Reason For Citation
arrests
By Gender
Female
Male
Officers may utilize a category of “Unknown” when gender and/or race are not disclosed, reported, or known by the officer. For this reason, some totals may not equal 100%
Age
Affiliation
UW-affiliate
Non-affiliate
Taken To Jail?
GENERATED COMPLAINTS?
Felony or Misdemeanor
Arrests by Race
Arrests by Ethnicity
Reason For Arrest
Based on feedback from our community, we’re showing only use of force data that involves pain compliance holds to a person, physically directing a combative subject to the ground, a strike to a person, pointing or using a weapon against a person, or injury to a person or officer. The data does not include use of force incidents that don’t involve people – like clearing an empty building or euthanizing an injured animal.
By Gender
Female
Male
Officers may utilize a category of “Unknown” when gender and/or race are not disclosed, reported, or known by the officer. For this reason, some totals may not equal 100%
Age
Affiliation
UW-affiliate
Non-affiliate
GENERATED COMPLAINTS?
Use of Force Incidents by Race
Use of Force by Ethnicity
Type Of Force
Code Descriptions
Displayed and prepared to use against a person
Person struck
Displayed and prepared to use against a person
Discharged at or in contact with a person
Displayed and prepared to use against a person
Discharged at a person
Displayed and prepared to use against a person
Discharged at a person
Displayed and prepared to use a less lethal device (i.e. beanbag, foam) at a person
Discharged less lethal projectile (i.e. beanbag, foam) at a person
Strikes, pressure points, compliance holds, or physically directing a person to the ground
Any force directed toward a person not contained within another category
Weaponless use of force at lawful direction of medical personnel
complaints
Types Of Complaints
Complaints Related to Use Of Force
Definitions
compliments
Thank you for the warning and keeping our campus safe.
Just a quick note to thank you and your fellow officers for the open house that was held on Wednesday. It was great seeing the officers, security, k9, and horse patrol. The tour of the building was great. Remember to be safe today, tomorrow, and all future years other wise I will meet you in the parking lot.
Was pulled over for no headlights on my rental, it was a quick, professional and respectful stop, I appreciate B Prough badge #7772
UWPD was contacted after a BERT response at American Family Children's Hospital. I was impressed by the responding officers' professionalism as well as their remarkable patience. Ultimately the situation was resolved peacefully and all parties involved had the best outcome.
After reaching out to dispatch (who was also very nice, but I do not know that person name - LED Cederquist) to provide information on a potentially disruptive patient that would be present the following day that we wanted on your radar, I received a call back from Officer Arbay who was incredibly nice and was really listening to what I had to say and asking some great clarifying questions to ensure he had all the information he needed. The next day, Officer Slaney presented himself to our area to let us know he was present, reviewed what we anticipated needing and what his plan would be (granted something bigger elsewhere did not pull him away) based on the information we provided. Officer Slaney did exactly what he told us he would and made himself available to us as needed. Officer Slaney was also incredibly nice, was a great listener and made us feel very supported. I had several staff members remark to me how much they appreciated the support of Officer Slaney and the whole UW PD in general for taking great care of us! Thank you for continuing to be amazing. We acknowledge you all have incredibly difficult jobs and hope you know we very much appreciate all of you! At the same time, we do always know other duties could trump this type of request! Thank you so much!
Ed, Thank you so much for taking the time to plan and present the tabletop exercise during our Residence Life Safety Day!
We really appreciate your partnership and efforts to prepare us for decision making during critical incidents.
This officer was unironically the most professional I've seen a policeman. I was honest with him in our encounter and I didn't feel threatened at all. I could tell he listened to me when i spoke. I'm typically anxious and scared with the police but not with him. He was professional and nice and if this is a standard of the force going forward in Madison then I'm happy this is the direction it's moving towards
Thorough and reasonable. Very professional officer with a respectful and understanding outlook. Very appreciative for his service and attitude.
Officer Kamp was very kind and understanding. I appreciate his kindness when I was in the wrong for a traffic violation. The world could use more officers like him!
A couple (?) months ago we called 911 for a patient having a medical issue. When officers Johnson and Bailey arrived (a 3rd officer as well but I did not catch her name) they were focused in on the patient and working to understand the situation. They came in with hustle showing they were ready to be active on scene and that they were here to help. Thank you, once again, for showing up for us! We always appreciate the assistance and hope you know we value you! Thank you!
My son and I were in Madison for the first time to visit the university. We were trying to find our way to a restaurant when we found ourselves very turned around. We were stuck when Officer Vera came along and helped us, getting us headed in the right direction. We really appreciated his understanding and kindness.
Very professional & informative!
Sgt. Hamilton & Officer Erwin, “Jason” is passing along his compliments to the bike patrol officers and UWPD for supporting a unit such as them. He stated he attends events often at Camp Randall and appreciates UWPD utilizing bike officers in crowd settings,
and that he feels more safe having them there.
He also thinks that it is great that they are being promoted on our social media.
Officer Bailey was very professional and compassionate during a traffic stop he made this morning. He was understanding of my situation and allowed me to go on my way to work as quick as possible. I appreciated him very much, he was very nice to me when he didn't have to be.
I want to extend my sincere appreciation for the support you have given the International Division during the 2025-2026 academic year. This has been another uniquely challenging year, but the expertise you shared with us has helped elevate our efforts as a division, and I am grateful for the contributions you have made to our campus, state, nation, and global community.
Thank you once again, and I look forward to continuing our work together in the future
Equity in Practice
UWPD is committed to fostering the conditions needed to achieve and maintain equity. This means
regularly evaluating our policies and training with a focus on achieving equitable outcomes. It also means actively seeking out
opportunities to collaborate with campus and community partners to enhance safety.
Policy
Policies represent a set of expectations for which UWPD officers are accountable across a range of things they do — including managing emergencies, writing reports, and interacting with community members.
Training
Training is an important part of making sure new and continuing UWPD officers are fully prepared to interact with the public in ways that yield the safest and most productive outcomes possible.
Restorative Justice
UWPD is one of the most active participants in the Dane County Community Restorative Court (CRC) program.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
UWPD hired its first Executive Director of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion in 2019 to ensure DEI principles are a part of everything we do as a department.
Triple Accreditation
UWPD is the only agency in the State of Wisconsin to be triply accredited. To maintain accreditation, UWPD submits to a regular review process conducted by an independent third party.
Mental Health Response
We recognize mental health as a serious issue for our society and community. Through training and collaboration with campus partners, we are committed to addressing this issue thoughtfully.
Ways to Get Involved
Police Advisory Council
Formed in 2017, the Police Advisory Council (PAC) is a campus community advisory group that meets regularly to discuss and review a range of department and campus-related topics. The PAC is comprised of stakeholders from across the UW–Madison community.
Help Us Train
UWPD officers are required to participate in a number of trainings throughout the year. Volunteers can enhance the quality of these trainings by serving as role players, discussion panelists, etc.
Officer Ride-Alongs
A ride-along is a unique opportunity to learn about what UWPD officers do on a day-to-day basis. This can be a great way to gain perspective about campus policing -- whether you are an interested community member or even someone interested in joining our team.
Hiring and Promotional Panelists
At UWPD, we are only as good as our people. Community perspectives are valued when it comes to evaluating applicants for a variety of positions at the department.
UWPD Community Academy
Participants in the UWPD Community Academy get an immersive experience designed to teach them about department, including training. The UWPD Community Academy is still in its developmental stages -- stay tuned for more information on how to become a participant.
Internships
For people who are interested in working at a police department or related area, UWPD hosts internships. Typically extending a summer, six months, or one year, interns have the opportunity to learn about the department, expand their career network, and gain valuable experience across different aspects of our operations.
Get in Touch
If you have questions or feedback, we want to hear from you.