-  The Milwaukee Police Department: High Fives and Pedestrian Safety
        - Improving Police-Community Relations in Six U.S. Cities
        - On the Beat over the Holidays: In Conversation with Wayne Vincent
        - The Peacemaker Corps: Promoting Peace, Tolerance, and Conflict Resolution
        -  Private Prisons: Change in Policy and Practice
        -  Social Media: How Police Agencies Are Re-writing the Communications Handbook

Subscribe

 The Beat

 Learning

 Archives

Search Dispatch:Search

### The Milwaukee Police Department: High Fives and Pedestrian Safety

*The COPS Office is  pleased to feature the December 2016 winner of the Community Policing in Action  Photo Contest—The Milwaukee Police Department. The winning photo features Officer  Scott Wieting high-fiving a young man during International Walk to School Day.*

Every October, thousands of children and adults around the  world participate in International  Walk to School Day. The day is intended to raise community and global  awareness about walking safety and to promote healthy behavior.1 In the past several years, the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) has  participated in this day, working with a number of schools in the city. 

  “Officer Wieting, who has been an officer for seven years  now, made a real connection with this young man,” shared Jon Riemann, MPD’s  media producer and the photographer who captured this endearing moment. “They  were talking about Ninja Turtles and just about everything. When Officer  Wieting asked him if he wanted to be his partner, he high-fived him and said  yes and so they walked around the block together.”

  International Walk to School Day is just one of the many ways  the MPD interacts with the community. Chief Ed Flynn stressed that community  policing is a philosophy that guides the department, as reflected in MPD’s  mission statement:

*In partnership with  the community, we will create and maintain neighborhoods capable of sustaining  civic life. We commit to reducing the levels of crime, fear, and disorder  through community-based, problem-oriented, and data-driven policing.2*

  “Our recruits memorize it,” shared Flynn. “I want to  reiterate that community policing is not a set of programs, it’s a philosophy  that emphasizes neighborhood engagement.”

  The largest city in Wisconsin, Milwaukee is a very diverse  city that comes with its own challenges. With a 28 percent poverty rate and  high rates of violent crime, community policing is key to its public safety.  “Our department is organized around our seven policing districts,” said Flynn,  who commands over 1900 sworn officers. “We assign officers to steady beats and  sectors and our district commanders are tasked with organizing and developing  strong neighborhood and block associations. We have community liaison officers  that do full-time what *all* of our  officers do part-time.”

  The MPD has received funding through the White  House Building Neighborhood Capacity Award to help develop informal social  capital for local-based leadership and has been awarded funding through the Byrne Criminal  Justice Innovation twice.

Though MPD faces a number of challenges related to violent  crime, its successes should not be dismissed. “We have strong support from our  community, based on citizen surveys captured by the University of  Wisconsin-Milwaukee,” shared Flynn. “We’ve also seen a significant decline in  complaints over the years.” And with officers continuing to developing positive  relationships with Milwaukee’s youth, the future has never looked brighter. 

  The COPS Office congratulates the Milwaukee Police  Department for being one of the 12 winners of the COPS Office 2016 Community  Policing in Action Photo Contest and for its commitment to community policing. 

*Written with contributions  from Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn and Jon Riemann, Media Producer. Photo courtesy  of the Milwaukee Police Department. *****

Najla HaywoodSpecial ContributorThe COPS Office

----

### References

1" International Walk to School Day," accessed November 15, 2016,  http://www.woodstockga.gov/index.aspx?NID=365.

2" Welcome to the Milwaukee Police Department," accessed November 15, 2016, http://city.milwaukee.gov/police#.WCuEdNUrK71.

**Back to top**

 The Milwaukee Police Department: High Fives and Pedestrian Safety| The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice: Improving Police-Community Relations in Six U.S. Cities  |  On the Beat over the Holidays: In Conversation with Wayne Vincent  |The Peacemaker Corps: Promoting Peace, Tolerance, and Conflict Resolution  | Private Prisons: Change in Policy and Practice  | Social Media: How Police Agencies Are Re-writing the Communications Handbook 

FOIANo Fear ActOpen GovernmentPlain WritingPrivacy PolicyUSA.govLegal Policies and DisclaimersLanguage Access Plan