The Madison Police chief is planning to cut longtime safety education classes next year at Madison elementary schools. The Madison Police Department plans to pull the Classes on Personal Safety (COPS) Program because of staffing and budget pressures.
Four full-time officers work for the COPS Program teaching fourth and fifth graders in public and private schools about bullying, alcohol, tobacco, online safety and more. The program lasts for one semester, about 16 weeks.
MPD Chief Mike Koval said he’s disappointed he has to suspend this program because it helps build trust in the community and is vital for youth. The program has been around since Koval first joined the department in the early 1980s.
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Koval said the department is, “down 23 bodies in patrol services, that doesn’t even begin to grasp what we’re losing in investigative services. So yes, it is a staffing crisis that’s upon us.”
MPD applied for a federal Department of Justice grant that, if approved, will help fund 15 more officers. Koval said he’s concerned about what will happen if this grant doesn’t come through.
“If all we become is literally a squad car going to emergency calls exclusively, I think that would be a very sad commentary on what we’ve regressed to,” he said.
Madison Metropolitan School District interim chief of school operations Michael Hertting said he understands the Police Department’s decision, even though it’s unfortunate.
The safety classes will end in January 2018, but Hertting said he hopes the classes will return in 2019.
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