It’s been a year since Police Chief Edward Flynn arrived in Milwaukee from Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was commissioner. He held an informal session with reporters on Wednesday, and talked about his accomplishments as he marked his one year anniversary. He also set some lofty goals for 2009. WUWM’s Marti Mikkelson has more.
Police Chief Edward Flynn says his biggest crime fighting accomplishment has been reducing the murder rate in Milwaukee from 105 in 2007 to 71 in 2008. That’s the lowest number in more than two decades. But he says crime is still too high, and now is not the time for the department to rest.
“We know we’ve still got our work cut out for us. Nobody’s claiming victory. Nobody’s doing a dance in the end zone here. There’s a great deal of work to do. But we think we’ve demonstrated we’re on the right track and I’m convinced that as we continue to refine our tactics and strategies, we’ll continue to see improvements in the product that we produce,” Flynn says.
Flynn says his biggest challenge in the next year is to stay ahead of the cat and mouse game that plays out as criminals begin to adjust to police strategies. He partly attributes the drop in violent crime to the spirit of cooperation that exists in the department. He says the collegiality turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
“I have not run into any bureaucratic guerilla warfare. I haven’t run into any malicious compliance. I haven’t run into a series of frivolous grievances for example, filed because somebody just doesn’t like management. This organization made up entirely of residents of Milwaukee clearly wants to protect its city and I think is open to try anything that will enable them to do that more effectively,” Flynn says.
Flynn says he’s trying to change police culture and the code of silence that has plagued the department in the past. He says other big city police departments have experienced similar behavior on the part of officers to cover up misconduct. He says he’s working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police on a new leadership code.
“We’ve trained nearly 100 officers in this approach so far. They are 100 peer leaders from every rank. They are very excited about it and we’re going to continue to roll this out and have the adult conversation, if you will, among our members about what it means to be a professional police officer. What does our integrity, what does our honor require of us and how are we going to conduct ourselves?” Flynn says.
Flynn says he’s still trying to mend fences with the community in the aftermath of the Frank Jude beating, a case he inherited from his predecessor. Jude, who’s bi-racial, was severely beaten outside a house party in Bay View in 2004. Three white police officers were acquitted on state charges, but were later convicted in federal court and sent to prison for the attack.
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