Badger Blogger

Last week, a certain lefty blogger took it upon himself to chastise Badger Blogger for having the audacity to suggest that perhaps all the high-fives and slaps on the back that Nan Heggerty and Tom Barrett were giving each other over their declared success of the MPD’s Neighborhood Safety Initiative weren’t entirely deserved.

Well, the Journal/Sentinel has now weighed in with its own “Watchdog” report on the declared “success” of the NSI. And their conclusion is rather interesting:

“A Journal Sentinel analysis of crime statistics for the first three months of the $2.45 million initiative shows that some major crimes, such as homicide, were reduced rather than shifted to other areas. But the statistics also show that the extra patrols might not be the unqualified success that police and some city officials have portrayed.”

I’m sure “KRM” over at Mobile’s Take will be equally outraged by the position his good fellow lefties over at the Journal/Sentinel are taking on the results of the NSI. I’ll bet he’s drafting a strongly-worded “Letter to the Editor” right this very instant…

Badger Blogger believes that you can question the results of the program (and it’s $2.45 million dollar cost) without questioning the courage and dedication of the officers who put the plan into action. So, is the J/S “questioning the officers’ integrity” as some commenters here suggested Badger Blogger was by merely asking some questions?

To use the words of Ken Mobile, “Go figure”. Go back to watching the Cubs, Ken. (Oops.)

When the safety of students and other good residents of the east side of Milwaukee are at stake, apparently “snitchin’” is still an acceptable practice.

We have reported here at Badger Blogger in recent days, with the help of tips from an astute blog visitor, of a recent concentration of violent crimes near the UWM campus. Thanks to the fine work of Milwaukee police officers, and with a license plate number an observer reported after witnessing one of the incidents, three suspects were arrested this past Monday on suspicion of their involvement in one of these crimes. Criminal charges were scheduled to be reviewed today against the one adult suspect arrested as a result of this lead. Badger Blogger will continue to update this story as it develops.

In addition, an e-mail sent to students suggests that just yesterday, UWM police questioned a man acting suspiciously near campus, and found a potential accomplice hiding nearby. One of the men was arrested on an outstanding warrant.

Kudos to MPD and UWM police for working together; making the near-campus area safer for our students and residents through their diligent work, and through these arrests.

The streets of Milwaukee’s east side are clearly less intimidating this evening. But there’s always more work to be done where crimes of opportunity are concerned. Anyone with information about these, or other incidents which they believe might be of value to authorities is urged to call UWM Police at 229-4627 or the MPD non-emergency number, 933-4444.

I guess we’ll be sending ours to Cuba?

Canada’s Expectant Moms Heading to U.S. to Deliver
Mothers in British Columbia are having a baby boom, but it’s the United States that has to deliver, and that has some proud Canadians blasting their highly touted government healthcare system.

“I’m a born-bred Canadian, as well as my daughter and son, and I’m ashamed,” Jill Irvine told FOX News. Irvine’s daughter, Carri Ash, is one of at least 40 mothers or their babies who’ve been airlifted from British Columbia to the U.S. this year because Canadian hospitals didn’t have room for the preemies in their neonatal units.

This mother of the year candidate and her two friends get her two your old stoned while they video taped it, had been arrested. There should be a special criminal charge for things like this, 1st Degree Stupidity! This “mother” should have this child removed from her custody and never be allowed contact again… but we know that the criminal (in)justice system would never do the right thing.

Mom and friends accused of giving marijuana to 2-year-old

We finally learn who the late (and secret) candidate for the Milwaukee Chief of Police job is, it is Springfield Mass. Police Commissioner Edward Flynn. From the few minutes I have spend looking into him, he seems like an interesting candidate… As time goes on, we will learn more.

Springfield chief candidate for job here
The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission has formally added Police Commissioner Edward Flynn of Springfield, Mass., to its list of finalists for the city’s police chief job, officials said today.

A few links:
Police Department Bio.

Springfield violent crime stats down
Violent crime, down 14 percent during the first half of 2007, consists of cases of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, in line with the FBI’s unified crime reporting system, officials said.

Flynn said he is particularly encouraged by double-digit percentage decreases in aggravated assault and gun assault.

“Why that is significant for Springfield is that much of our reputation is driven by our reputation for gun-related violent crime,” Flynn said. “As we have said for the last year and a half, our goal is to disrupt that cycle of violence through intelligent planning and intelligent deployment relying on good data analysis, and that appears to be bearing some fruit.”

The decline in crime is “tangible proof that our community-based, problem-oriented data-driven strategy is working,” Flynn said.

Prior to his appointment as Springfield Police Commissioner, Ed Flynn was appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety by Governor Mitt Romney. In this cabinet-level position, Flynn oversaw 21 state agencies including the Massachusetts State Police and the Massachusetts National Guard. Flynn previously served as a Chief of Police of Arlington County (VA), where he reorganized the police department to facilitate the adoption of a community-based problem-oriented policing strategy…

Who is running the show in Forest County? Refusing to release 911 tapes and arrest records? What are they hiding, and do they think they will get away with these actions? They need to get ahead of things now.

I realize that there are things that they can not talk about, but they need to explain what happened while the mass murderer was at a family friends house for hours, with several people calling 911 over and over again, with no response. Who was in charge at that time? Was the DOJ in place? The Sheriffs Department? Local police? Someone needs to step up and explain themselves. Was there some sort of territorial pissing match going on and the agencies were not working well together? They need to supply answers now.

I criticize the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel when I feel they deserve it, but for this events coverage, they just might get that Pulitzer that they have been trying to hard to get for the past few years. Their coverage of the time when the killer was at the Kegley home calling 911 over and over again, and even risking their lives to leave to drag the cops to their farm home, was outstanding!