The Brief
- Milwaukee police revived Operation Summer Guardian, increasing weekend officer deployments through September to combat gun violence.
- The data-driven initiative places extra patrols in high-crime areas and mandates constitutional refresher courses for all deployed officers.
- MPD measures success by the absence of gunfire rather than arrests, officials say.
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) announced on Thursday, May 21, the launch of the fifth annual Operation Summer Guardian initiative to address gun violence. The initiative will run every week, Thursday through Sunday, until the end of September.
Operation Summer Guardian
What we know:
A news release from MPD says Operation Summer Guardian was created five years ago. It is a targeted response prioritizing community engagement in areas that were identified as having the most gunshots fired. The initial deploys additional officers in high-frequency neighborhoods.
Summer Guardian has occurred each summer since. To ensure the constitutionality of all stops, MPD requires those officers assigned to this deployment to attend a constitutional policing refresher course. In addition, MPD organizes community feedback sessions, neighborhood pop-up events and door hanger canvassing to ensure that the community is satisfied with the MPD presence. Feedback from the community has been positive throughout these annual deployments. Summer Guardian is an example of a multi-faceted community and problem-oriented policing approach to crime encompassing data, community input and regular feedback to reduce and mitigate the occurrence of violence in neighborhoods.
Measuring success
By the numbers:…