Milwaukee studies Baltimore’s approach to community policing
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Members of Milwaukee’s Community Collaborative Commission in Wisconsin are examining Baltimore, Maryland’s community policing plan to improve how residents influence policing in their city.
The commission has been working on police reform and community-oriented policing for several years, and is nearing completion of its own plan. Milwaukee Police Department officials state they already use a community policing framework and have collaborated with the commission to gather input.
Baltimore’s plan emphasizes that all officers share responsibility for community policing, moving beyond specialized duties. Milwaukee Police Department has a similar policy requiring all members to engage in community and problem-oriented policing, though the Fire and Police Commission has expressed concern about how consistently this happens. Baltimore also stresses the importance of meaningful engagement with residents, conversations and collaboration, rather than simply having a police presence.
The Baltimore plan focuses on addressing the root causes of crime through a four-step process of identifying problems, analyzing causes, developing responses, and assessing results. Milwaukee Police Department says it already uses this same approach, known as the SARA model. Both cities acknowledge that effective strategies must be tailored to specific neighborhoods and that resident feedback is crucial for measuring success. Baltimore currently lacks a formal way to ensure resident input translates into action, a gap Milwaukee hopes to address.
