Fourth annual Badger Watch conference to be held Jan. 7

The University Police Department will hold its fourth annual Badger Watch conference on Thursday, Jan. 7, at the Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St. As of Dec. 30, 150 members of the university community had registered to attend the free event, which runs from 7:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Badger Watch, launched in the fall of 2002, is the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s crime-prevention program. It is a collaborative effort between UW Police and more than 1,000 volunteers who want to help make campus a safer place.

For the first time, the department is offering two three-hour introductory courses in self defense. Both the morning and afternoon sessions filled up several weeks ago.

“Badger Watch volunteers have asked us for this training and we are bringing it to them,” says central campus community Officer Kristin Radtke, one of the event’s organizers. “There is a need on campus for staff members to feel safe in their working and living environments, and Badger Watch is a great resource to assist them.”

For the fourth year in a row, the department is also offering a CPR course to conference attendees.

“Having more university staff trained in CPR will benefit the campus community as well as citizens off campus whose paths they may cross,” says Radtke.

Other sessions are Basic Badger Watch; Advanced Badger Watch; Community Policing; and UW Police. Conference presenters include experts from the UW Police Department, Law School and Department of Kinesiology.

Local media representatives who would like to cover the conference or a portion of it can contact Radtke at 608-265-6753 or keradtke@wisc.edu, or Officer Erik Pearce at 608-265-5223 or empearce@wisc.edu.