As I leave the Milwaukee Police Department, I finish my term proud of the accomplishments made under my tenure as chief of police.
Under my administration, we have made great strides toward making this one of the finest Police Departments in the nation. We have advanced our police-community relations, greatly streamlined our day-to-day operations and I have been strident in my demands for the highest quality of officer that the residents of this city expect and deserve.
These have not been years without controversy, but out of every adversarial situation, has emerged a better way for the Milwaukee Police Department to do business.
I look back on the business plan I proposed for the Milwaukee Police Department when I appeared before the Fire and Police Commission on Oct. 6, 2003. My mission statement – one I have held fast to every day of my term in office – reads, "To reduce crime and enhance the quality of life in the City of Milwaukee."
With great pride, I tell you on my final day that I met every business goal I set for this department before I became chief. There is much more to accomplish, but I am pleased to tell the citizens of this city that these goals – the ones that don’t always make for exciting television and news stories – were achieved and will make a difference to this Department and to this community.
I brought back the Gang Unit in the Intelligence Division. Tragically, two of those officers recently were shot in the line of duty as they did the dangerous job of attacking the nexus of guns, drugs and gangs in this city. I am proud to be the chief of a department where the men and women are willing to lay down their lives protecting the city. I also brought back the district level Anti-Gang Units to enhance our gang investigation efforts at the district level.
Crime fighting reached a new level in my administration with the Neighborhood Safety Initiative (NSI). After a 19-week run, the NSI aggressively addressed violent crime along with the quality of life offenses that can make life unpleasant in some neighborhoods. With 51,000 citizen and business contacts, the NSI showed we are serious about cleaning up crime and we’re doing it while making those valuable contacts that foster strong relationships between the community and the police.
Additionally, the NSI eliminated cruising in the City of Milwaukee. Once the blight of the neighborhood where it occurred, officers blanketed the areas frequented by cruisers and stopped it in its tracks.
The Milwaukee Police Department employed a strategy targeting specific neighborhoods in order to reduce violent crime. Looking at the statistical evidence and the Department’s crime fighting strategies, the NSI is the only variable that has dramatically changed from 2006 to 2007. The one thing we know that always works in any crime reduction strategy is a large uniformed presence of officers. People tell us that a once common occurrence of hearing shots fired in their neighborhoods is no longer occurring. People feel safer and that is our goal – not just for them to feel safer but also for them to be safer.
Armed robberies, homicides and non-fatal shootings all posted double-digit reductions in the summer of 2007 as compared to the summer of 2006. The NSI took 174 guns off the streets making the city that much safer. Gun seizures department-wide are up about 12 percent from last year.
Homicides were down 20.8 percent over the summer – traditionally the most violent months in the city. Our homicide clearance rate typically hovers around 80 percent – a clearance rate unheard of in other cities our size.
I supervised the creation of the Homicide Review Commission, a group formed to track the root causes of homicide. This program has gained national attention for the innovative way we have taken a public health approach to homicide. As an example, when the group determined that many of our homicides were occurring near taverns, I put a patrol strategy into place that addressed that issue and we saw homicides near taverns decrease.
I have put in motion a number of other moves to enhance the crime fighting ability of the Milwaukee Police Department.
I led the charge for funding in-squad cameras in MPD vehicles as part of our compliance with the Impaired Driving Reduction Project grant. The cameras are a valuable tool for both police and the public. Cameras mounted in the squad cars and conveyance wagons will help increase conviction rates and enhance drunk driving enforcement. The cameras can assist in documenting traffic violations, as well as, prostitution, drug trafficking and other types of investigations. They also provide officer accountability. We also have added two-finger identification to the equipment in our squads. This device allows officers to get an on-scene identification of a subject who they have stopped to verify their identity.
I established the Milwaukee Police Endowment Fund, a 501(c)(3) foundation that has enabled us to accept donations from our valuable community partners. This foundation made it possible for me to bring back the police canine program – one that enables officers to work the streets more efficiently by partnering them up with specially trained dogs. Those officers are currently in training and the program is set to begin shortly.
As chief, I encouraged and implemented a cooperative agreement between Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Police Department to increase safety in our schools by assigning officers to work directly in the schools. Internal surveys at Bradley Tech, one of the schools involved in our pilot program, have shown an increase in the trust between students and police.
The placing of pole cameras within the city is still a new venture but studies have shown that these cameras provide a deterrent for those who would commit crimes. Already, we have obtained video from these cameras that has assisted with criminal investigations and prosecution.
Many of my crime fighting initiatives have met with great success due to our partnerships with federal and state agencies. I worked hard to build these relationships, recognizing that we work strongest when we work together.
Historically, there has been distance between citizens and police departments across the country.
We know that when the distance is great between the police and the citizens they serve, crime thrives in that void. I have worked to bridge that gap and in doing so, I have helped to create a climate in the city of Milwaukee that the next chief can build upon.
I created Hispanic and African American liaisons that worked to develop a more positive relationship between my administration and these facets of the community. The two sergeants reported directly to me and helped address issues of importance to those communities before miscommunication and misunderstanding spread.
As my business plan unfolded, I instituted Crime Trend Analysis meetings at the district level to keep stakeholders informed of crime trends in their neighborhoods. On the south side, these meetings were also held in Spanish. Recognizing the city’s burgeoning Hmong population, we worked with the Hmong American Friendship Association and others to translate MPD materials into Hmong. We worked with the community to translate our Citizen Academy and Youth Citizen Academy programs into Spanish and Hmong, as well. Opening the doors to these communities has resulted in a level of community relations never realized by this department.
As I committed to doing in my business plan, I brought back the public relations manager position to provide timely information to the media, the community and its stakeholders. Through that position, we created the "Strength in Partnerships. Building Safer Neighborhoods" campaign. This community spirit campaign developed a partnership between the Milwaukee Police Department, Clear Channel Outdoor and Clear Channel Radio. Over the summer we emphasized community involvement through Block Watch. The campaign was promoted on bus shelters and billboards during the summer of 2007.
Through a mediation agreement with the Department of Justice, I formed the Milwaukee Commission on Police and Community Relations. After 18 months of mediation with 39 city and community leaders, an agreement was reached. The formation of the commission brokered the confidence and the support of the City’s community leaders. The commission’s mission is to improve public/police relations in the City of Milwaukee by encouraging frank communication between the parties and by professionally addressing issues that have historically been sources of concern for the public and the Department. They have continued to meet monthly since June of 2005.
My business plan further vowed to decentralize authority in the department, giving district and division commanders the ability to effect change within their commands. I accomplished this and it has made the Department run much more efficiently.
When I became chief, I reorganized other facets of the Department to better serve the citizens of the City of Milwaukee. I placed numerous able-bodied officers who were working desk duty back onto the street. I further enhanced the efficiency of the Department by adding civilians to our Background Investigation Section and identified other areas where civilians could substitute for sworn personnel.
Recognizing that 90 percent of our burglar alarm calls were false alarms, I instituted a policy whereby burglar alarms had to be verified before a police response was sent. Squads are no longer tied up on false burglar alarms – they are out on the street responding to calls for service.
As promised, I revised and streamlined the internal investigation and discipline process that has resulted in a substantial decrease in use of force incidents, citizen complaints against police officers and a reduction in lawsuits filed against the Department.
I am proud to have raised hiring standards for this Department by developing more efficient promotional testing and instituting psychological testing. I personally review every background of police officer candidates and I object to those applicants who I do not think will make a quality officer.
During my administration, we have made training the hallmark of this department. We instruct our personnel on risk management; emotional survival for law enforcement; crisis intervention; tactical communication; leadership, gun identification and cultural competency. We also provide counseling and support for veterans returning from active deployment in the military.
Additionally, I have completely revamped our Police Aide program to more efficiently develop the young people who seek to become Milwaukee police officers one day.
Working under my direction, the Professional Performance Division has developed an Early Intervention Program (EIP). The EIP is a data-based management system for reviewing police officer performance, tracking questionable behaviors, and identifying officers with frequent citizen complaints. The system suggests intervention strategies designed to change performance. The primary benefit of this system is that timely intervention can correct negative behaviors before discipline is required. Other benefits include the ability to track complaint trends for both individuals and groups of officers; the ability to generate data to improve training and policies & procedures; enhanced monitoring of officer performance; and early containment of issues that might become problems.
It is my greatest disappointment that issues involving police misconduct are those that grabbed the headlines during my administration. I have taken swift action when my officers did not follow the rules, regulations, policies and procedures established for this Department. It is my fervent wish that the citizens of the City of Milwaukee know that the majority of the men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department are working hard every day to keep this city safe
Many of the changes and programs that I have initiated and the results of my accomplishments may not be immediately realized. But I am confident that down the road, a better and stronger Milwaukee Police Department will be my legacy.
I have been proud to lead these brave men and women, and my four-year term has been a daily effort to that end. I thank the City of Milwaukee for working as our partner and I pray that the strong foundation I have laid will continue with the next chief of police.
May God bless and keep you all safe.
Nanette Hegerty retired from the position of Milwaukee Chief of Police Friday.
