Wis. PD launch privately funded program

By Ryan Haggerty and Alex Lundy
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee leaders launched a privately funded anti-crime program on the city's south side Thursday morning, with suggestions that Operation Impact could be expanded to the rest of the city.

Donations from Milwaukee businesses and foundations will pay the overtime costs for additional Milwaukee police foot and bike patrols in the area from noon to midnight and buy 18 additional surveillance cameras and alley lights to be installed in the area.

Ald. Bob Donovan spearheaded the initiative, which targets an area located in his district. He said he hopes to raise about $150,000 from private donors to pay for the equipment and additional police patrols.

Operation Impact will cover an area bordered by W. Pierce St. on the north, W. Lincoln Ave. on the south and between Chavez Drive and S. 38th St.

The initiative builds on two similar security enhancements funded by businesses: the surveillance cameras installed on W. National Ave. between Chavez Drive to S. 27th St., paid for by Badger Mutual Insurance Company, and cameras installed on N. 27th St. from W. State St. to W. Michigan, funded by businesses in the SOHI district.

More than 20 area residents joined Donovan to outline the new initiative Thursday morning in the gym at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2229 W. Greenfield Ave. Other officials in attendance included Common Council President Willie Hines, Police Chief Edward Flynn and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm.

Businesses in the area already donated about $41,000 of the roughly $52,000 that has been pledged so far, allowing the extra beat patrols to begin later this month, Donovan said. "As a Milwaukeean, I'm very proud of the private interest and involvement we've received so far, with corporations, foundations and even mom and pop store owners contributing money and resources to help this initiative move forward," Donovan said.

District 6 police officers will volunteer to patrol one of five zones within the target area, ideally on foot or a bicycle, and will be paid overtime for doing so with the collected funds, Donovan said.

"We're looking to really connect with the community through these beat officers," Donovan said. "It's an opportunity to open up the lines of communication, maintain order in the neighborhoods and address quality of life issues that impact us all."

The plan will also involve area churches, neighborhood associations, landlords and residents, Donovan said.

The alderman said he hoped the program sets a precedent, but not one that suggests businesses and foundations need to open their checkbooks to receive extra police service.

"I don't want to leave that impression with people," Donovan said. "If there's a problem area in the city, it will most certainly be addressed."

Hines, who supports Operation Impact, also downplayed the role of private funding for police protection. The program is citizen-driven, and its expansion in other parts of the city will depend on residents committing to their neighborhoods, he said.

"It's a call to action for residents within a given area to get actively involved in an area of interest," Hines said. "I think it's unfair to identify it as a buying of police services. That's not the greatest element of the program."

Just as significant as the additional police patrols and security equipment will be the expansion of the Neighborhood Ambassadors, a program that sponsors neighborhood cleanup efforts, and a court watch, in which volunteers monitor key court cases.

Dolly Mertens, a co-owner of the Wild Flour Bakery, 2800 W. Lincoln Ave., views the $500 donation by her business as an investment in the neighborhood in which her shop opened six years ago. Her store is one of the locations where surveillance cameras are being installed this week.

"I'm not looking for anything myself, other than to keep my community safe," Mertens said.

Copyright 2008 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel