Hello!…and to some of you, hello again! I’m Jeff Kirchman, the new UWPD Community Police Officer for University Apartments. To those of you who have been around for a while, you may recall me from when I served as an interim replacement for Community Officer Brad Davis, back in 2019-2020. I enjoyed my six months in the role so much, I was the first to apply when Officer Davis completed his term.
Here’s a little information about me. I’ve been with UWPD for six years, primarily as a patrol officer. Before that, I spent 16 years as a police officer for the nearby communities of Shorewood Hills and Maple Bluff. In addition to my time here in Eagle Heights, I also served as interim Southeast Community Officer in 2020-2021. My additional UWPD roles include:
- Liaison police officer for the UW-Madison Arboretum and Lakeshore Nature Preserve.
- Marine patrol for the University’s Upham Woods youth environmental education camp.
- Trainer for UWPD’s Active Threat Response program.
- American Heart Association CPR instructor.
- Member of the UWPD Peer Support Team.
- Back-up UWPD Public Information Officer.
- Trainer for new UWPD police officers.
As you can see, UWPD officers wear a lot a hats.
As your community officer, I have three guiding principles: Communicate, Facilitate, Mediate. I will strive to ease and support the two-way flow of information between the police department and the community. I plan to be a convenient and responsive resource for University Apartments’ residents and staff. And I hope to mitigate conflicts early, to avoid spiraling into more challenging situations.
My office is in the Community Center, room 131. If my door is open (and it usually is), please feel free to walk in for a chat. Or you can call me at 608-265-0468 or email me at jkirchman@wisc.edu.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve your community. I look forward to being here to help when you need it.
Jeff Kirchman
University Apartments Community Police Officer