A group of bicycle police rides down the street on Milwaukee’s South Side. Bike patrols are just one potential aspect of a community policing plan. (NNS file photo by Edgar Mendez)
By Edgar Mendez
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.
Since the Community Collaborative Commission was established in 2019 to help improve policing in Milwaukee, one of its greatest successes was to work with the Milwaukee Police Department to revise the standard operating procedures for community-oriented policing.
The changes, made effective on May 26, 2023, reaffirmed the MPD’s commitment to incorporating community-oriented policing principles into its train police ding, policies and standard procedures.
The commission, also known as the CCC, is now pushing to see that commitment moved forward through the implementation of a comprehensive community policing plan, using the City of Baltimore’s plan as a potential template.
“We’re just introducing [the Baltimore plan] as being the proverbial wheel that we have to put our spokes on to become the Milwaukee model,” said CCC member Fred Royal. “If there’s a willingness on MPD’s part to truly have a community-oriented policing engagement plan embedded as the overarching theory of MPD then this is the template they have to follow.”
Baltimore’s plan
Instituted in 2020, with a phased rollout of different initiatives, Baltimore’s Community Policing Plan was created to improve community relations and reduce crime through increased community engagement and collaborative problem-solving.
Key elements of the plan include an organizational redesign; dedicated officer and analyst capacity; community-oriented policies; community-oriented training; and community partnerships.
The plan was designed to create a culture where police had positive daily interactions with residents; dedicated time to work directly with residents and other stakeholders; increased collaboration within the police department; used data to inform problem solving; and had built-in accountability measures.
The Baltimore plan was examined as part of the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s analysis of 16 community listening sessions hosted by MPD from 2022 to 2024 to discuss community-oriented policing and community engagement. The purpose of the meetings was to help develop an enhanced approach to community-oriented policing in Milwaukee.
The report found that MPD could look to community policing plans in Baltimore, and Cleveland, for insights of community-oriented policing procedures and community-engagement activities.
Gun violence in Baltimore has gone down in recent years. In 2024, homicides and shootings fell to their lowest levels in 10 years, according to data from the City of Baltimore.
What is a community policing plan?
A community policing plan is a strategy that promotes collaborative partnerships, positive community engagement and problem-solving techniques to proactively address issues such as crime.
CCC member Tim Baack said during a recent meeting that a community policing plan and buy-in from the community can improve relations between law enforcement and residents.
“We could help MPD develop a good solid community policing plan but also engage the community about their engagement in the plan,” he said. “Accountability is difficult without transparency.”
Royal said he’s met with Sheronda Grant, inspector of patrol bureau for MPD; James Lewis, risk manager for MPD; Leon Todd, executive director of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission; and Bridget Whittaker, executive director of Safe & Sound, to discuss the possibility of using Baltimore’s plan as a template for Milwaukee.
“It was a very positive meeting,” Royal said. “They’re going to go back and talk to the decision-makers and see if we can also get a greater buy-in and participation from some of the department heads.”
Royal said his hope is that the MPD would begin work on implementation of a plan within six months.
Challenges for CCC
Despite some positive momentum on the development of a community policing plan, there have been a number of challenges for the CCC.
Frustrated over what he said was a lack of support from the city, Stephen Jansen, co-chair of the group, resigned from the commission in September.
“Fundamental and significant changes in policing have not occurred. The promises made to oppressed communities by elected officials at the local, state and federal level have not been fulfilled,” Jansen wrote in a resignation letter he sent to Nate Hamilton, chair of the CCC.
Jansen cited the city’s decision to not fund a $200,000 request to conduct a community policing survey and a community plan, and he also accused the city of not operating in good faith with community efforts for police reform.
He said he’d been asking for financial support from the city to conduct an independent survey since 2023. Jansen said the police satisfaction survey done by the Fire and Police Commission is biased.
“It overwhelmingly surveys individuals who are white in the community,” Jansen said. “We wanted a survey that is represented by Black and brown people in the community, who are the most impacted by disparate policing.”
He said unless leaders collect real feedback from residents about the type of holistic change they want to see and then implement it, things won’t change.
“Regardless of what enhancements take place, what matters is what the data says in relation to disparate policing more so than the public statements about change that has happened,” he said.
Lack of engagement by some CCC members
Another challenge for the group is a lack of engagement among members. The group has included a discussion on challenges in meeting quorum and attendance on the agenda of several meetings in 2024.
The group met on Jan. 15, 2024, but did not meet quorum and were unable to take a vote to remove two members: Jeff Roman, former executive director of Milwaukee County’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Shawn Muhammad of Asha Family Services, for missing three meetings in a calendar year.
“You can’t conduct business without a quorum,” said Royal. “If you’re part of a board within an organization that to me is a minimum requirement that you should meet.”
The group has discussed recruiting new members, including some to replace Ashanti Hamilton, who recently resigned as director of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety.