Posted on Sunday, 25th July 2010 by Patrick Dorwin
Ryan Haggerty of the Journal Sentinel has an outstanding piece looking into the crime numbers that the Milwaukee Police Department has been putting out under Chief Ed Flynn. Calls for police have increased drastically, yet fewer officers are actually dispatched.
As crime rate drops, calls for police soar
Some residents question department responsiveness
When a man stole items from her yard and the yards of several neighbors on Milwaukee’s north side in May, Tracy Duer became a crime victim.She also contributed to a tide of calls for service received by Milwaukee police that began rising sharply last year and is on pace to increase again this year to more than 900,000, even as the city’s crime statistics continue to plummet.
That would be well above the roughly 817,000 calls received last year, which itself was a 23% increase over the average for the previous four years, which all fell between 646,000 and 678,000 calls, according to information obtained from the department through an open records request.
Despite the jump in calls, officers were dispatched to fewer calls in 2009 than in any of the previous four years, according to the data. Dispatched calls also are down through the first three months of this year.
With the increase in calls for service, complaints about response time are on the rise - from residents such as Duer to more than 520 representatives of city businesses who signed a petition this spring.
You might remember that a few months ago, I had someone prowling around my home, a neighbor scared the thug away as his girlfriend called police. The operator told her to check around the house herself, because they wouldn’t dispatch an officer unless she could say that someone actually got into the house. No officer was dispatched, and there seems to have never even been a report generated. Officers I have talked to, including another neighbor, and an Alderman (not my own) were all surprised by the reaction from the MPD operator. We learned that calls not made to 911 do not necessarily have a report generated.
“If you catch somebody stealing stuff out of your yard and your neighbor’s yard and you see him going up and down the street stealing stuff from your other neighbors’ yards and you call the police and they don’t come, what are you supposed to do?” Duer asked.
I would like to point out that this is not questioning the fine officers that work to keep us safe, they do an awesome job. We are calling to question the statistics and how these crime numbers are being reported by MPD’s administration. Flynn trying to deflect the question of an increase in calls vs. dispatched officers as “attributed to previous problems with the computer system that monitors the calls” doesn’t stand well with me, and apparently with many others that have seen actual police response eliminated or cut back, with our own eyes.
Along with operators/dispatchers not sending squads on many calls that they once would have, under Flynn, officers are also tasked with doing more investigating that was once done by specialized detectives as I understand it.
Still, some officers have had to shoulder the demands of responding to calls for service while also taking on an increased responsibility for some felony investigations, partly because of a reorganization of the department’s detective bureau, said Michael Crivello, president of the Milwaukee Police Association.
He argues that responsibility is stretching some officers too thin.
“The chief has said that he wants his uniformed officers to be more visible and to be out there,” Crivello said. “But then on the other hand, he’s tasking these same overworked officers with felony investigations.”
This story has brought to light many great questions, it’s going to be interesting to keep following these numbers, and to see the reaction from those in the media (will anyone else cover this?) and from inside law enforcement.
As crime rate drops, calls for police soar
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37 Responses to “If calls for police skyrocket, is crime really down, or is someone fudging the numbers?”
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July 25th, 2010 at 8:29 am
Yet, Flynn’s policy of “Differential Police Response” is not mentioned in Haggerty’s piece. Why?
July 25th, 2010 at 9:16 am
That makes no sense.
July 25th, 2010 at 9:56 am
I’ve given this some additional thought, and I’ll add this:
If Barrett and Flynn tell us crime is down, who are we, or the J/S, to question this? It’s not like Barrett has any reason to make his liberal base, or people outside of Milwaukee believe that he’s “crackin’ down” on crime, and hired a tough-as-nails police chief to get results, right?
If Flynn and Barrett say crime is down, it must be down. Even if calls for service are up 25%, and the people perceive that crime’s up, or that they aren’t safe. The numbers don’t lie! If the citizens don’t feel safe, in the words of the “peoples’ servant,” Democrat Rod Blagojevich, “F-k them.”
Let me say in closing, to the good people of Milwaukee, if you think Flynn’s “Differential Police Response” is making it hard for you to see a cop after being burglarized, just wait until you have to see a doctor after the Democrats control your access to the health care system. Now THAT is really going to suck.
Enjoy your free health care!
July 25th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
AHhhhh, the first segment of the exposure of the smoke and mirrors that has been peddled by this snake oil salesman that the mayor hired. During his interview (Which should have never occurred because he did not comply with the deadlines given to the other cantidates), Barrett was concerned that Flynn might be “The Music Man.” Well Tommy, that is exactly what you gave to us.
I can’t wait to see the follow up stories about how Doug Henning is magically making crime disappear.
July 25th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
I hate it when I’m right (not really). Months ago I stated that the crime up or down analysis could be validated by examining: 911 calls; ER admissions; calls to CPS, and to all mandatory reporters, etc. So keep going; the 911 call stats help, but are only part of the story. Manytimes crime caused injuries don’t generate 911 calls, but they do generate ER visits or calls to CPS…
July 25th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Read the comments to Haggerty’s article at the J/S website. (The ones their webmasters DIDN’T delete.)
Tells the story about the DELUGE of citizen discord just lurking out there, which Milwaukee’s lap-dog media is unwilling to take on, with their beloved career-servant Barrett running in a statewide election.
This will all be reported AFTER the gubernatorial election. Just like Obama. All the worst shit comes out AFTER their candidate gets elected.
NEVER FORGET what these bastards did to you in 2008. Never. They duped you and played you for fools. Learn from your mistakes, people.
July 25th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
I would bet that if an Open Records request was made in regards to the amount of narcotics recovered, number of firearms seized, and the number of search warrants executed, one would see a huge decline from 2008 to 2009 and an even larger decline from 2009 to 2010. These numbers reflect in crime statistics in that they are proactive in nature, and generate incidents. If you aren’t proactive, it appears that crime is down due. What it is doing is empowering the thug element of the Milwaukee Drug Community. When Fast Eddie hits it, we are F**KED!
July 26th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
I called the police today and waited for twelve minutes before I got the opportunity to talk to a live person.
July 26th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
It appears as if the MPD crisis of the week is traffic stops.
The powers that be determined that officers are not stopping enough cars. What is the magic number of appropriate cars stopped? Got quotas, anyone?
What will the crisis be next week? Responding to calls for service in a timely manner? That was last week’s crisis.
It looks like there is an increase in the calls for service, police officers are required to spend more time on these calls (fewer detectives, reports filed on everything to avoid second-guessing), and there are fewer officers.
Problems are lurking.
July 26th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
The article talks about the Neighborhood Task Force.
What has the NTF done, besides arrest older guys for unpaid tickets?
July 26th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ HAS SPOKEN!
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/99280414.html
July 26th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
stalker,
If the NTF is best at cracking down on folks with unpaid parking tickets and expired registrations, they would do themselves a favor by focusing on members of Tom Barrett’s campaign staff.
BadgerBlogger knows of at least three such staffers, including one who is the daughter of a high-profile Madison-based trial attorney with a rather “well-known” firm, whose father has a history of donating exclusively to folks with a “D” after their names…
As the saying goes, “It’s not what you know…”
July 26th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
^^ZING!!^^
July 26th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
In this “correction” http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/99280414.html posted by Ryan Haggerty this evening, Flynn says actual calls for service were down. When I read the initial article in Sunday’s Journal, I was surprised to read that calls for service were up. This correction by Ryan Haggerty, as a result of Flynn’s eagle eye, does not reflect that crime is “down”. It reflects that people are not calling to report crimes because they are frustrated at the poor/no response to their previous calls for police service which is the direct result of Flynn’s Dispatch policy and not copper/Dispatcher indifference. How many times do you have to call the police to report something going on only to be told nobody’s responding, or the response is hours old, before you just quit calling out of frustration? The result is: fewer calls equals fewer crimes reported equals lower crime stats. Simple math, and Flynn is intelligent enough to know that. You don’t have to physically manipulate numbers to get the desired result.
July 26th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
” It reflects that people are not calling to report crimes because they are frustrated at the poor/no response to their previous calls”
Makes sense to me. If someone were to break into Patrick’s house he’ll most likely refrain from calling the police for the reasons you specify.
July 26th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
I’m guessing if someone broke into Patrick’s house, another “MPD” would be responsible for solving the problem.
“Mossberg Pumped and Discharged.”
July 26th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
tim, I really don’t know what point you were trying to make.
July 26th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Rawson is dead on right… And the thug would be dead on the floor… the Mossy 500 would be boomin’ if they try when I’m home next time.
July 27th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Now, let’s all think about this for a second.
Ryan Haggerty worked on this piece for MONTHS. He pulled ORR’s, he interviewed criminologists, he interviewed Flynn, he interviewed former cops, he interviewed active cops, he interviewed aldermen.
Almost every MPD employee knew Haggerty was sniffing around, and that this story was on the way.
So the DAY AFTER this months-awaited story gets printed in the J/S, Flynn pulls a “whoops” and claims that they coughed up the wrong data?
Beware the men behind the curtain. This is a distraction, an Alinsky’ish deflection, if you will. Now, the focus will be on the “flawed data,” rather than the real story here: Police response times in Milwaukee are inexcusably poor, if they respond at all. Taxpayers aren’t getting the level of service they should expect from their public safety officials. It’s been a festering topic of frustration for Milwaukee’s business owners. Alderman have called for answers. It’s contributing to a perception that, unless you’re murdered, the police don’t give a damn about your time-wasting problems.
Yet the lap-dog media, now that one of their own has let the genie out of the bottle (as is usually the case) will focus not on the legitimate problems, but on an inaccurate conclusion reached thanks to (intentionally?) flawed data provided to the J/S.
The media should talk to the folks at SPLIT ENDZ on 31st and Vliet. Ask them about their experience with MPD after their armed robbery. The media should talk to the woman from Racine who made a trip to Milwaukee to check on a property her family owned only to find signs of forced entry, and, not knowing whether the perps may still be inside, called on MPD to come to her aid. 9 hours and 11 phone calls later, they had not. But she ended up having to stay in the burglarized house overnight because she had lost her ride back to Racine, but only after getting harassed by a group of neighborhood kids - all of which, I might add, was documented, step by step, in her 11 calls to 911 dispatch.
Flynn’s MPD has thumbed their nose at the J/S. Let’s see whether they stand down, or fight.
July 27th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Chief Ed Flynn will be on WTMJ 620 AM with Charlie Sykes in a few minutes. I don’t know what Flynn will say, but I will say this:
There may be some legitimate differences in the numbers. If the ORR asked for ALL dispatch logs, it would include every time a squad goes out with a lunch, traffic stop, court appearance, request from another squad for assistance or prisoner transport…or any other assignment that is not a call for police service from a citizen. It all depends on how the ORR was worded. If the MPD just provided everything, it would include examples like those above and more.
That said…I agree with JRS that police response times in Milwaukee are inexcusably poor, if they respond at all and this is the real issue.
I have heard stories from friends, like Patrick, needing police service and from friends who work for the city at the MPD and other depts, that police response time is slow…if it comes at all. Patrick’s experience is particularly disturbing as, in my opinion, it put his neighbors at risk.
July 27th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Wow. I guess Sykes is on board.
For those of you who weren’t able to catch Flynn on 620AM, here’s the summary: Nothing to see here, move along. I’m sorry that ONE WOMAN interviewed by Haggerty didn’t feel like she got fast enough police response.
Nice of Flynn to take a parting shot at “the blogs,” too. For a cop, he seems a bit thin-skinned.
July 27th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Yep…that’s what he said. He was noticeably uncomfortable on the response time question. He deflected this issue by saying that he and the MPD can’t be concerned with “running around reacting” to crime because you “surrender your public places” to the criminal element when you do so. Hmm…ok…does that mean a citizen in need is supposed to take a back seat to a citizen who may be in need in the future?
He also said burglaries are up about 1% in first 6 mos this year, while violent crime is down.
On a positive note, he said his officers won’t be responding to any cigarette in progress calls. He said the MPD will take the complaint and make a referral to the city health dept. for them to follow up with an inspection. Kinda nullifies the no smoking law, doesn’t it?
July 27th, 2010 at 9:51 am
I got the impression that Flynn and Sykes had a tee-time for later this afternoon, and they didn’t want any tension ruining their game.
I’m sure it has nothing to do with Sykes’ wife working for the Bradley Foundation, which funded the Kelling / Wasserman consultancy that ultimately brought Flynn to Milwaukee, to the tune of, what was it now… about $350K?
Nope. No conflict of interest there. Shouldn’t Sykes be required to disclaim that his wife is employed by the entity that funded Flynn’s recruiting before hurling up softballs at Flynn?
July 27th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Just a thought: maybe the response times suck because the radios do, too.
@Roland : cigarette in progress
HA! What’s the code for that?
July 27th, 2010 at 10:45 am
@Roland : cigarette in progress
HA! What’s the code for that?
In a discussion about how calls are prioritized, Sykes had asked him what level of resources Flynn is going to throw at people complaining about smokers in restaurants/bars. As JRS said, the interview had a jovial quality, so Flynn chuckled as he said the MPD was not going to any “cigarette in progress” calls. Pretty good answer…just what you’d expect from a politician.
July 27th, 2010 at 11:25 am
If calls are down, wouldn’t you expect response time to improve? Just asking…
July 27th, 2010 at 11:27 am
I heard that interview with Sykes. I kept waiting for Charlie to ask a tough question, but it was almost like he was trying to create an out for Flynn. It was very strange.
July 27th, 2010 at 11:30 am
Yeah, Calvin, you’re right. Almost like there was something going on behind the scenes, like Charlie wanted to willfully downplay the J/S report.
July 27th, 2010 at 11:35 am
… or Sykes is hoping to interview for Anne E. Schwartz’s job if the whole radio thing doesn’t work out…
July 27th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I only caught part of the interview with Flynn but heard enough that I was ready to call with a comment. I was suprised when Charlie just moved on to another topic.
Flynn danced around the question about calls for service and people not getting a response or a poor response. Flynn also said something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He said words to the effect that the police department couldn’t respond to barking dogs (he didn’t use that specific example, but it was on that level) and such. (I heard Hegerty say the same thing at a Neighborhood meeting when she was questioned about response times back in 2005.) That is something that comes from Police administrators and some others who are trying to justify poor police response. What people hear when that is said is, “We really don’t care about your small issues. We have bigger fish to fry.” That doesn’t go over good with people who attend neighborhood meetings, and I never agreed with that philosophy. It is absolutely no way to build trust and confidence and discourages people from calling to report those small problems in their neighborhoods that eventually grow to become much bigger problems. As I have said many times, it’s easier to put out a bunch of small brush fires than to wait until they become a raging forest fire. Obviously from Flynn’s answers this morning, that’s not something he agrees with.
Flynn’s answers to the questions tells me that “Broken Windows” is not part of his overall Policing Strategy. He’s touting his numbers that reflect a drop in violent crime at the same time he admits burglaries are on the rise. I doubt the veracity of his numbers to begin with and I also believe he is doing what he has to do to make Barrett look better for the election even if that means misdirection (as was the case with his comment about not attempting humor last Friday because the blogs would be all over him - and I believe that was specifically meant to mean me, as Badger Blogger may be the only local blog that ever challenges him and he knows that I know what I’m talking about when I write on these matters).
I wonder what George Kelling would have to say about the answers Flynn gave today. I wonder if Kelling would say that Flynn’s crime fighting strategy is following “Broken Windows”. Flynn complains about resources, yet our resources were not much different when I was around and we got the job done at the Districts I commanded and/or supervised in because we used a deployment strategy, coupled with use of overtime when necessary, to reduce crime and still address the other needs of the neighborhood people. Our strategy also built a great deal of trust and confidence with the good people who called and provided us with great neighborhood intelligence which allowed us to focus our strikes with laser-like precision and led to many good arrests as well as greatly reduced the collateral damage which often accompanies a sweep of a neighborhood.
I believe Flynn is the David Copperfield of Police Chiefs and it’s a damn shame that the people we read about, such as the businessmen who signed the petition, have to suffer because of it.
July 28th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
The below jsonline article reminded me of something else Flynn said in his interview with Charlie. Flynn was asked about his priority system for dispatching Officers to calls for service from the public. He said that if someone called to report shots fired 10 minutes ago, the priority for dispatching a squad would be lower than if a crime was reported in progress. The idea being that if the sound of shots was heard 10 minutes ago then the likelihood of the suspect still being on scene was remote. What he fails to take into account is that a victim may be lying somewhere dying or dead near where the caller lives. It has happened where shots were reported in an area and responding Officers found a shooting victim upon their arrival and canvass of the area. I say again that it is his dispatch policy, and prioritization system, which directly discourages people from calling to report crimes, and those crimes not reported do not end up in stats.
Girl injured, man killed in separate overnight shootings
By Sharif Durhams of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: July 28, 2010 7:24 a.m. |(37) Comments
A man was shot and killed and a 12-year-old girl was shot and injured while sitting on a porch in separate incidents Tuesday night on Milwaukee’s north side.
The body of a 29-year-old man was found about 11:30 p.m. in the 3300 block between N. 54th St. and N. 55th St., according to the Milwaukee Police Department. Neighbors said they heard a single gunshot.
Earlier in the evening, the 12-year-old girl was hit by several bullets while sitting on a front porch in the 3200 block of N. 21st St., but she should survive, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.
That shooting happened about 10:30 p.m.
July 28th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
If people think the police won’t respond to a call for service in a timely manner, does that contribute to the fear and disorder part of “crime, fear, and disorder?”
July 28th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Does the chief care about the timely response of police to calls for service?
If so, what is he doing about it? What can he do?
July 28th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
A deployment strategy which properly staffs the Districts and utilizes the District-specific Area Saturation Patrol concept I had in place with a strong emphasis on preemptive policing and which provides for greater flexibility to respond to District problem areas with surgical precision. Using Patrol Officers in patrol operations with Detectives doing the initial and followup investigations but working closely with the District Captains (which essentially means the team approach to fighting crime rather than a “them and us” approach like we used to have). It can be done with the proper leadership approach, but don’t ever expect to see it unless we get a Mayor who is willing to hire a Police Chief who understands the concept and allows him to do the job.
August 1st, 2010 at 11:51 am
More evidence that “crime is down in Milwaukee” (read lots of sarcasm for those who are slow):
Man shot and wounded Saturday evening
By Gina Barton of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: July 31, 2010 |(25) Comments
An 18-year-old man was treated at a hospital after being shot around 5 p.m. Saturday in the 4400 block of W. North Ave., according to Milwaukee Police Captain Terrence T. Gordon.
The shooting remained under investigation late Saturday. No further information was released.
August 1st, 2010 at 6:31 pm
…and the hits just keep coming. But crime stats are down in Milwaukee:
One dead in Sunday morning shooting on N. 47th
By Georgia Pabst of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Aug. 1, 2010 3:16 p.m. |(19) Comments
A man in his early 20s was shot in killed Sunday shortly after 8 a.m. in front of a residence in the 2800 block of N. 47th St., Milwaukee police said Sunday.
The victim was shot multiple times, police said. The investigation is continuing and no other information is yet available.
August 4th, 2010 at 6:20 am
13 killings in 3 weeks follow 28-day peaceful period
2 victims between July 11 and Aug. 1 were not previously identified
By Jesse Garza of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Aug. 3, 2010
After 28 days without any homicides reported in Milwaukee, there were 13 killings between July 11 and Aug. 1, police said this week.
A list of homicide victims in July included two victims not previously identified in the Journal Sentinel.
The two are:
• Brandon I. Worthy, 27, who was shot to death July 25 in the 5300 block of N. 27th St.
• Phoeasha E. Hill, 28, who was fatally shot July 21 in the 2400 block of N. 37th St. At the time police said she was shot while standing on a porch.
Police are still seeking suspects in the killings.
Milwaukee recorded its first killing of August on Sunday when Donovan Howard, 19, was fatally shot in the 2800 block of N. 47th St., police said.
Police are seeking suspects in Howard’s killing.
As of Tuesday, Milwaukee had recorded 49 homicides in 2010, according to a Journal Sentinel database.
On the same date in 2009, 48 killings had been recorded in the city.