2021 Annual Report
Message from the Chief
Greetings Milwaukeeans,
As a lifelong resident of the City of Milwaukee and a public servant, I am truly honored to serve my community as the Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). It was a blessing being named first as Acting Chief at the end of 2020 and then as the permanent Chief in November of 2021. I am proud to represent the dedicated men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department and the City of Milwaukee.
In 2021, Milwaukee and the world continued to be impacted by the pandemic; however, the city began reopening and evolving into the new norm post-pandemic. The city resumed festivals and schools started to transition back to in-person learning. MPD was able to reopen the Open Records counter that was affected by the pandemic to the public. Our Milwaukee Bucks became the 2021 NBA Champions for the first time in 50 years since their first championship. It was an exciting time during the NBA Playoffs/Finals and during the championship parade. It was a pleasure ensuring the safety of the public that attended the Milwaukee Bucks events.
Unfortunately, 2021 was also a challenging year and many of the alarming crime trends we saw in 2020 continued this year. Violent crime, reckless driving, auto theft and community engagement were our priorities in 2021. To reduce the amount of reckless driving, speeding and vehicular crashes from occurring in the City of Milwaukee, we created a new unit called the Traffic Safety Unit (TSU). TSU utilizes High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) as a universal traffic safety approach designed to create deterrence and change unlawful traffic behaviors. Through our new website, MPDTSU.org, we ask the community to be a part of the solution and report reckless driving locations directly to our analysts so we can better tailor our deployment based on your needs.
To combat the increase in auto theft that has been plaguing our community, we partnered with community stakeholders to acquire steering wheel locks. The steering wheel locks were made available free to our community members to add an extra layer of protection to help prevent stolen autos.MPD continues to use a multifaceted approach to address violent crime. MPD and the FBI inaugurated the Violent Crimes Task Force that is embedded in the Police Administration Building. FBI agents work collaboratively with MPD Officers to target violent crime. We also continue to work with the Office of Violence Prevention, the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, Credible Messengers, Violence Response – Public Health and Safety Team and other community partners to focus on violent crime.
Community engagement is a key component in reducing crime. We continue to work with our community proactively, rather than waiting for an invitation. We understand what community engagement means through meaningful dialogue with community stakeholders, city leaders, business owners, our neighbors, victims of crime and even suspects because this information is what enables us to be efficient and effective.
I have faith that as a community we can work together to overcome the many challenges we are facing. We can combat crime through accountability, fairness, positive open relationships and integrity. I envision a police department that works humanly with each other and all members of our community. I am committed to reducing violent crime and hope for a great 2022. The entire Milwaukee Police Department is committed to working with our community and system partners to continue to build sustainable neighborhoods free of crime that are built on positive relationships.
Chief of Police
Jeffrey B. Norman
Download the 2021 Annual Report