A squad car is parked in front of a public school in Milwaukee. Twenty-two police officers are now assigned to 11 schools. (NNS file photo)
By Devin Blake
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.
Twenty-five police officers were assigned to 11 MPS schools on Monday, city officials said.
This fulfills the requirements of both Wisconsin Act 12 and the orders of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski.
Borowski is presiding over a lawsuit against the Milwaukee Public Schools and the City of Milwaukee for failing to comply with Act 12, which requires at least 25 school resource officers be placed in MPS.
A hearing took place on Monday, during which Borowski demanded that the city show the progress it has made toward complying with Act 12.
A school resource officer is a law enforcement officer who works full time in collaboration with a school district, according to Act 12.
Here’s what we know.
11 schools will have school resource officers
Court records state that the following schools will have at least two police officers assigned as school resource officers:
– Riverside University High School, 1615 East Locust St.
– Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School, 700 S. 4th St.
– North Division High School, 1011 W. Center St.
– Milwaukee High School of the Arts, 2300 W. Highland Ave.
– Alexander Hamilton High School, 6215 W. Warnimont Ave.
– Washington High School of Information Technology, 2525 N. Sherman Blvd.
– Harold S. Vincent School of Agricultural Science, 7501 N. Granville Road
– James Madison Academic Campus, 8135 W. Florist Ave.
–Rufus King International High School, 1801 W. Olive St.
– Barack Obama School of Career and Technical Education, 5075 N. Sherman Blvd.
– Milwaukee Marshall High School, 4141 N. 64th St.
According to the agreement between the city and MPS, the selection of schools was based on multiple factors, including collaboration between MPS and the Milwaukee Police Department as well as crime statistics.
City leaders said the placement of school resource officers is not necessarily permanent.
“We might find out that in two months, there’s another school that has a better need,” said Nicholas DeSiato, chief of staff for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
“I have no doubt that one year from now, those schools – something will be different.”
The mother who filed the lawsuit against MPS, Charlene Abughrin, said that her son’s school was not on the list of schools to which officers are assigned.
She has a son who is a senior at Milwaukee School of Languages and believes an officer should be assigned there.
In total, 22 officers have been assigned to schools, meaning three additional officers must be placed to meet Act 12’s minimum requirement of 25 officers.
At the moment, those three additional officers do not have permanent assignments but will be placed at one of the 11 identified schools, said Heather Hough, chief of staff for Milwaukee Police Department.
There also will be seven supervising officers for the school resource officers.
The responsibilities of school resource officers
The agreement between the city and MPS clarifies that while school resource officers will respond to school-related incidents, they are not typically responsible for enforcing school discipline, which remains the primary responsibility of MPS administrators.
Officers will focus on crime prevention and law enforcement, including investigating criminal activity at or near schools and attending monthly meetings with MPS safety officials to review security concerns.
The agreement also outlines specific reporting requirements for school resources officers.
Quarterly meetings between MPD and MPS will be held to assess the program’s progress, and annual reports will detail the number of calls for service, arrests and citations at schools with officers.
Officials seal the names of officers
Borowski agreed to seal the names of school resource officers, which means that names will not be made publicly accessible and typically cannot be disclosed in court filings unless specifically authorized.
“The court invited us to file them under seal, and for reasons related to privacy and the confidentiality of MPD personnel records, we took the court up on that offer,” said Clint Muche, assistant city attorney.
According to DeSiato, the city’s primary concern was meeting Borowski’s demands.
“I don’t know how vociferously the city would have objected if the judge had not offered this (sealing names), but nobody’s trying to hide anything. These officers wear badges and build relationships with students.”