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Milwaukee Co. makes changes to GPS monitoring policy days after Chief Flynn voices frustration
Milwaukee Co. makes changes to GPS monitoring policy days after Chief Flynn voices frustration
MILWAUKEE -- Days after Milwaukee's police chief began ripping Milwaukee County officials for letting teenagers carjackers run loose, Milwaukee County officials have changed the policy regarding GPS monitoring.
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said he's encouraged by the move, which will alert law enforcement more quickly when juvenile offenders violate the terms of their supervision. Yet Flynn was far from satisfied after a week of a public back-and-forth with County Executive Chris Abele.
"I'm challenging the county to put on its big boy pants, examine its systems and processes and tell me they can do better," Flynn said on Thursday, June 9.
On
Tuesday, one day after Flynn aired his concerns before the Milwaukee Common Council's Public Safety Committee, Milwaukee County officials changed how they report when a juvenile violates GPS monitoring overnight.
Instead of waiting to notify police at 8:00 a.m. the next morning, emails are now sent immediately to law enforcement officials, said Melissa Baldauff, a spokeswoman for Abele.
Juvenile Justice Center
Baldauff said county officials made the change on their own, without prompting from Flynn. Abele has criticized Flynn for airing his concerns publicly.
"Having a press conference and assigning blame to the county is not the most productive way to address issues," Abele told reporters Wednesday.
The numbers of stolen cars and carjackings have soared in Milwaukee since 2015. An incident last weekend sparked this debate over county supervision.
Flynn told the Public Safety Committee that police arrested six juveniles for a double carjacking. Four were on county supervision.
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"I'm hearing from my officers every single week, every week! Dozens of juvenile arrests of individuals who are quote, 'on supervision.' Do something about that," said Flynn.
"I think we have some data to show not all of his facts are not entirely right," said Abele.
In an email to FOX6 News, Abele's office said the county had "no record" of 19 offenses that Flynn said the juveniles had committed.
Chris Abele
"It worries me that the county doesn't have a record of the offenses these offenders have committed. That worries me. That's a cause for concern. We got this information from CCAP," said Flynn.
Abele's office pointed to a 2014 memo signed by Flynn and a representative of the county executive's administration, in which police agreed to notify the county when officers made contact with a juvenile who was on supervision.
MPD is failing to follow through, said Balduff, Abele's spokeswoman.
"If I don’t know somebody is violating GPS, how am I going to report it back to the people who are supposedly supervising them?" Flynn responded.
This is a statement obtained by FOX6 News from Abele's office, related to this story: