Madison police to crack down on offenders after gun violence

Brittany Paris by Brittany Paris

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

In response to recent gun violence, Madison police will step up efforts to keep the community safe.

Police are dealing with a significant increase in gun violence. Calls for shots fired are up 63 percent over this time last year.

“We want to be able to re-instill to those who are shopping, going to houses of worship, just walking about their neighborhoods they can do so without any relative worries about being harmed or hurt in any way,” Madison police Chief Mike Koval said at a Sunday news conference.

Koval said he won’t allow a small group of people who resort to gun violence to put the rest of the city in danger. Police are going to be making more stops and more arrests to get violent people off the streets.

“Those people that we have clearly identified, that we think are on the cusp or partially responsible for this kind of stuff, if there’s probable cause of other crimes, they’re going to be hauled in,” Koval said.

He stressed this does not mean there will be an increase in citations for minor offenses, but rather people who are believed to be involved in gun violence.

“The gloves are off. We need to show who the alpha dog on the street is,” Koval said. “It has to be manifestly clear that we are not going to let a couple dozen people hold a quarter of a million people hostage.”

COPYRIGHT 2020 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.