Madison Reporter

The City of Madison is looking for someone who can reduce crime and develop a rapport with local communities using a specific criminal justice program implemented in Madison almost a decade ago.

"We’re hiring a Crime Reduction Community Development Specialist," the city's public health department said in a Twitter post on Friday, Sept. 24. "This position will oversee and implement a grant which focuses on crime reduction in the Downtown Madison area."

The city is expected to accept applications until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 12.

The ideal candidate will be able to operate within Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)'s Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program to work with the community to reduce crime in the area implemented in 2012.

BCJI, formerly known as Innovations in Community Based Crime Reduction, encourages data-driven, comprehensive and community-led strategies with an eye toward reducing crime and spurring revitalization. The BCJI program provides grants, training and technical assistance to encourage communities and other partners to pinpoint and address what is driving local crime, according to information on LISC's website.

"The BCJI approach focuses on crafting crime-reduction strategies that are collaborative, community-led, evidence-based, integrated into broader revitalization efforts and sustainable," the website says. "LISC has provided technical assistance to help local BCJI recipients form these strategies since 2012, serving 74 communities. BJA and its national partners continue to use LISC's model to provide training and technical assistance for new rounds of BCJI grantees."

The successful candidate for Madison's Crime Reduction Community Development Specialist position will receive a two-year contract and pay will be between 60,000 and 71,000 a year. The specialist will work within the city's community development division and be responsible for engaging with communities where crime rates are highest and working with members and stakeholders of those communities to compile information that will help to reduce crime, according to the job's listing online.

Most crime in Madison increased last year, compared to the year prior, according to city's 2020 Annual Report. Stats in the report for last year included 250 reports of "shots fired," a more than 73 increase over 2019, and 1,130 reported burglaries, an almost 30% increase over the previous year. Almost 640 vehicles were reported stolen, almost 47% more than in 2019, and 1,600 "theft from auto incidents" were reported, a 22% increase from Madison’s five-year average.