Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution directs the Chief of Police to submit reports on the status of recommendations regarding the policies and procedures of the Madison Police Department. No City appropriation is required.
Title
Directing the Chief of Police to report on the status of the recommendations regarding the policies and procedures of the Madison Police Department.
Body
WHEREAS, on May 16, 2017, the Common Council adopted the final report of the President’s Work Group on Police and Community Relations, Recommendations on Police Policies and Procedures, Legistar 46407, and the 13 action items in that report became City policy; and,
WHEREAS, the Madison Police Department Policy & Procedure Review Ad Hoc Committee issued its Final Report on October 18, 2019, containing 177 recommendations, and the Common Council accepted that report on January 21, 2020, Legistar 57712; and,
WHEREAS, on April 21, 2020, the Common Council directed the Chief of Police to report on the status of those 177 recommendations, Legistar 59848, and the Chief submitted that report on July 13, 2020, Legistar 61151, which is the most recent status report the Common Council has received; and,
WHEREAS, the Madison Police Department’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan states that the recommendations of the OIR, Ad Hoc Committee, and Quattrone reports were incorporated into it but does not identify which recommendations its action steps address, and the Department’s presentations on the plan to the Police Civilian Oversight Board’s Policy and Procedure Subcommittee on September 5, 2024, October 29, 2025, and April 9, 2026, did not report the status of the recommendations; and,
WHEREAS, seven reports issued since July 13, 2020, have made an additional 131 recommendations regarding the policies and procedures of the Madison Police Department:
a) the Final Report and Model Policy of the Police Body-Worn Camera Feasibility Review Committee, January 26, 2021, 12 recommendations;
b) the Madison Police Department Sentinel Event Review of the Department’s Responses to 2020 Protests of Police, Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, November 16, 2021, 69 recommendations;
c) the Annual Report of the Office of the Independent Monitor, 2023-2024, March 15, 2025, 7 recommendations;
d) the Supplemental Report from the Office of the Independent Monitor, Early Intervention Recommendations, September 26, 2025, 1 recommendation;
e) the Report on the Madison Police Department Body-Worn Camera Pilot, Office of the Independent Monitor, October 10, 2025, 8 recommendations;
f) the Annual Report 2025/2026, Office of the Independent Police Monitor, 25 recommendations; and
g) the Investigative Report, Case #OIPM2025-0009, Richard Lee Johnson, Office of the Independent Police Monitor, 9 recommendations; and,
WHEREAS, the Common Council has not received a current account of the status of these 321 recommendations, and the Madison Police Department has not provided a status report in six years; and,
WHEREAS, regular reporting on the status of these recommendations shows what the Madison Police Department is doing to improve its policies and procedures and how it is responding to the recommendations it receives; and,
WHEREAS, the Common Council, the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, the Police Civilian Oversight Board, and the public need to know which recommendations the Madison Police Department plans to implement, which it does not, and when it expects to complete the work that remains; and,
WHEREAS, the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, the Police Civilian Oversight Board and its External Policy & Procedure Subcommittee, the Public Safety Review Committee, the Police and Fire Commission, the Common Council, and the public need this information to monitor the performance of the Madison Police Department in a timely manner, and request corrective action when necessary;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council directs the Chief of Police to submit to the Common Council, the Police Civilian Oversight Board, and the Independent Police Monitor a report on the status of each recommendation covered by this resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report shall be submitted as a table with one row for each recommendation and columns for the recommendation number, the report the recommendation came from, the text of the recommendation, its status, the body responsible for it, the records cited, and the expected completion date.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the recommendations covered by this resolution are:
a) the 13 action items in the final report of the President’s Work Group on Police and Community Relations;
b) the 177 recommendations in the Final Report of the Madison Police Department Policy & Procedure Review Ad Hoc Committee;
c) the 131 recommendations in the seven reports listed above; and
d) each recommendation regarding the policies or procedures of the Madison Police Department made after the adoption of this resolution by the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, the Police Civilian Oversight Board, the Public Safety Review Committee, Police and Fire Commission, and the Common Council.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report shall state, for each recommendation:
a) whether it has been implemented, implemented in part, not acted on, not directed to the Madison Police Department, or no longer applicable, and for a recommendation reported as no longer applicable, the reason; and
b) the body responsible for the recommendation if it remains open, including recommendations directed to the Common Council, the Police and Fire Commission, and other City agencies.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that where a recommendation does not clearly state the action to be taken, the report shall state what is needed in order to implement the recommendation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that for each recommendation reported as implemented or implemented in part, the report shall provide the records needed to show the work was done, including, but not limited to, the following, and a record that is published may be cited by link rather than attached:
a) the standard operating procedure or policy by number, section, and current effective date, with a link, and, if the standard operating procedure or policy was revised in response to the recommendation, a copy showing the edits made;
b) the ordinance section or Common Council resolution with its Legistar file number;
c) the training curriculum or lesson plan with the date first delivered and the number of officers trained;
d) the form, report template, database field, or system change with the date it took effect;
e) the contract, memorandum of understanding, or position description;
f) the reports, audits, or data published under the recommendation, with links and dates; and,
g) for a recommendation calling for a continuing practice, the most recent records showing the practice is current and being done;
h) for a recommendation reported as addressed through the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, the action step in the plan and the MPD Strategic Plan Alignment addendum showing the correspondence, and any updated version of the plan.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that where a recommendation duplicates one already answered in the report, the report may state the status and cite the response to the earlier recommendation by number rather than repeating it.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the Madison Police Department does not plan to implement a recommendation made after July 13, 2020, the date of the memorandum from Victor Wahl, Acting Chief of Police, to the Common Council, Update on MPD Response to OIR/Ad Hoc Committee Reports, Legistar 61151, the report shall state that and give the reason.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that for each recommendation that has not been fully implemented and that the Madison Police Department plans to implement, the report shall state when the Department expects to complete it: within 6 months, within 12 months, within 2 years, within 3 years, within 5 years, or more than 5 years.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report shall be submitted to the Office of the Independent Monitor before it is placed on a Common Council agenda, that the Independent Monitor shall complete a review of the report within 30 days of receiving it to verify, based on the records provided by MPD with the report, the status of the recommendations, and that the Independent Monitor’s review shall be submitted to the Common Council with the report, with a copy to the Chief of Police.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the first report shall be filed within 90 days of the adoption of this resolution.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that after the first report the Chief of Police shall report on the status of the covered recommendations twice each year, with the annual report to the Common Council in February required by Madison General Ordinances Section 5.09(2) and with the second quarterly report to the Common Council that follows that annual report, until every recommendation is reported as implemented or withdrawn, and that each report shall be assigned a Legistar file so that the public may review it and submit comments.