{"id":204200,"date":"2026-04-20T17:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T21:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/madison-wis-police-scrutinize-data-sharing-cybersecurity\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T21:25:10","slug":"madison-wis-police-scrutinize-data-sharing-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/madison-wis-police-scrutinize-data-sharing-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Madison, Wis., Police Scrutinize Data Sharing, Cybersecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Madison, Wis., Police Scrutinize Data Sharing, Cybersecurity<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.govtech.com\/security\/madison-wis-police-scrutinize-data-sharing-cybersecurity<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-04-20 17:08:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.govtech.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. <\/p>\n

(TNS) — The office established to investigate complaints against\u00a0Madison\u00a0police was temporarily denied access to the department\u2019s data last year after mishandling sensitive information, including victims\u2019 names, addresses and case details, the city\u2019s police chief said.At the same time, the city board that manages the office ignored concerns from other city departments and officials that the office may have violated state laws, a member of the\u00a0Madison City Council\u00a0said.Madison\u00a0police paused openly sharing data with the\u00a0Office of the Independent Police Monitor\u00a0and requested an internal review of its employees\u2019 handling of sensitive documents after learning that sensitive, unredacted documents it had provided the office were being uploaded to a personal device and analyzed with software not approved by the city\u2019s IT department.Cybersecurity isn\u2019t the city\u2019s only concern with the monitor\u2019s office. In an email the\u00a0Wisconsin State Journal\u00a0obtained through a public records request, Ald. MGR Govindarajan told the chair of the Police Civilian Oversight Board,\u00a0Maia Pearson, the office\u2019s staff were working beyond allotted hours, circumvented the city\u2019s AI policy and purchased and contracted services without following city guidelines.\u201cWhile independence in its core function is both important and necessary, extending that independence to areas such as compliance with City policies and legal requirements creates risk not just for the OIM, but for the City as a whole,\u201c Govindarajan wrote.POLICE PUSHBACK AGAINST DATA SHARINGPolice paused record-sharing on\u00a0Nov. 7\u00a0after the monitor\u2019s data analyst,\u00a0Greg Gelembiuk, told Assistant Police Chief\u00a0Angie Kamoske\u00a0that he had used his personal computer to analyze police records provided to the monitor\u2019s office.According to an internal memo from\u00a0Madison Police\u00a0Chief\u00a0John Patterson, Gelembiuk called his city-issued laptop a \u201cpaperweight\u201c and stated that he received permission from the previous monitor,\u00a0Robin Copley, to use his own device.Gelembiuk never received approval from the city\u2019s IT department to use his own computer for the work. He also reportedly told Kamoske that he used software that IT initially rejected.\u201cI have \u2018data analyst\u2019 in my title, so I figured out how to do the job without IT support,\u201d he wrote in an email to Patterson.IT director\u00a0Sarah Edgerton\u00a0confirmed that the department later approved one of the software packages after a formal review.Gelembiuk declined to comment for this story, referring questions from the\u00a0State Journal\u00a0to interim police monitor Aeiramique Glass.\u201cPersonal devices and unapproved software should never be playing a role in any of our work,\u201d Patterson told the\u00a0State Journal. \u201cWe have a responsibility to the whole community handling sensitive documents, sensitive records, personal identifying information, with the utmost security and diligence.\u201cUnder city ordinance, the OIPM is entitled to \u201cunfettered access\u201c to unredacted police records, which are typically withheld from public records requests.The police department lifted its block on sharing records with the OIPM after Glass was hired as interim monitor. The PCOB chose Glass to temporarily lead the monitor\u2019s office a month after Copley stepped down for personal health reasons.\u201cOn day one, the chief and I met, and he agreed that there will be no issue with information sharing and lifted that pause,\u201d she told the\u00a0State Journal.Patterson said he\u2019s hopeful the relationship between his department and the monitor\u2019s office will improve under Glass, but that police will not side-step state records laws if similar issues occur.ORDINANCE CHANGEIn his last month in office, District 8 Ald. Govindarajan, who represents most of the UW-Madison campus area, introduced an ordinance to clarify the PCOB and OIPM’s role and the city policies they are required to follow, and to mandate quarterly reports to the\u00a0Madison City Council.An amendment to the ordinance by Ald.\u00a0Davy Mayer\u00a0would add a\u00a0City Council\u00a0member to the PCOB to ensure that at least one elected official attends their meetings.The board strongly objected to the ordinance when introduced last month, with some members telling the\u00a0City Council\u00a0to stop bothering them with frequent changes.\u201cThis type of quarterly reporting, this type of regular attendance \u2026 is indicative of a type of policing,\u201d\u00a0Helyn Luisi-Mills, a member of the PCOB, said at a\u00a0March 25\u00a0meeting. \u201cWe\u2019re not like every other board, and we should not be treated like every other board.\u201dGovindarajan said he introduced the ordinance at the\u00a0March 25\u00a0PCOB meeting to gather feedback and make changes based on the board\u2019s perspective. That didn\u2019t happen, as the board voted to table discussion of the ordinance indefinitely.The City Council\u00a0can pass the changes with or without the PCOB\u2019s approval, Govindarajan said, \u201cit’s just unfortunate, from my perspective, that when this goes to Council, we won’t know what their recommendations are.\u201dThe ordinance is scheduled to be taken up at the City Council\u2019s next meeting on\u00a0April 21.HISTORY OF NON-COMPLIANCESince its inception in\u00a0September 2020, the PCOB and OIPM have been dogged by controversy.In 2022, language requiring specific demographic representation on the board was changed after a lawsuit was filed against the city. A second lawsuit over discriminatory hiring practices in selecting the independent monitor was filed in 2023.In September Ald.\u00a0Regina Vidaver\u00a0and Govindarajan wrote a letter to the PCOB outlining their concerns about the performance of the OIPM, then led by Copley, and the PCOB’s lack of oversight.This included multiple instances of the office\u2019s failure to submit annual reports, the monitor\u2019s failure to attend\u00a0City Council\u00a0meetings, and a history of ignoring public records requests directed to the office.The State Journal\u00a0has not received a response to a request submitted last month for a list of AI prompts used to help draft a report by the independent monitor\u2019s office. Madison\u2019s city government has a temporary policy prohibiting the use of generative AI in public reports.The 2025 report was held for review but was later approved by the PCOB before a full review was conducted.Pearson said most of the council\u2019s concerns were addressed in a\u00a0March 31\u00a0email to Govindarajan.\u201cThe Board fully understands that the OIM operates within City systems and may be subject to basic applicable legal and administrative requirements,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the same time, the independence of the OIM and PCOB in carrying out its core mission is fundamental and must be preserved.\u201cPearson did not respond to calls or emails from the\u00a0State Journal.FUTURE OF THE OIPMThe \u201cindependent\u201d in the Office of the Independent Monitor\u2019s name is intentional. The office is afforded significantly more autonomy than other departments.Unlike most department heads, the monitor is chosen by the board, not the mayor, but still requires final approval from the\u00a0City Council.The office received $405,299 in 2026, more than half of which pays the salaries of its three employees, the monitor, a data analyst and an office manager and $50,000 is set aside for outside legal counsel.In her now revised 2025-2026 annual report, Glass said the staffing situation is \u201cnot sustainable\u201d and that the office should receive approximately $1.97 million per year, or roughly five times its current budget, to meet its goals.Quintupling the office\u2019s budget is unlikely given Madison\u2019s financial standing. Two years ago, the city passed a $22 million referendum to maintain its current spending, meaning it would have to make cuts elsewhere.\u201cWe build a budget, and then we actually spend money,\u201d Vidaver said. \u201cWe may overspend our budget if, for example, MPD has higher than anticipated overtime costs.\u201dThe city has a buffer of around $20K in the budget, she said. \u201cBut, if we spend over that expenditure restraint threshold by even $1, we lose millions from the state in support for the next year.\u201dSome in the city have called for defunding the office.In 2024, Mayor\u00a0Satya Rhodes-Conway\u00a0proposed a budget that drastically slashed the office\u2019s spending. In 2025, a group of\u00a0City Council\u00a0members attempted to put a complete pause on the office’s spending.Both attempts failed, but the threat remains present as the city gears up for another round of budget talks.\u201cIf these risks are not addressed and result in avoidable liability for the City, I believe the Council would be compelled to take steps to mitigate that risk, including reevaluating the structure, oversight, and funding of the OIM and PCOB,\u201c Govindarajan said.\u00a9 2026 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.). Visit\u00a0www.wisconsinstatejournal.com. Distributed by\u00a0Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n

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