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Citizen complaint meeting
Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission discussed a new report Tuesday night.
MILWAUKEE - Members of the public can file a complaint with the Milwaukee Police Department if they have a bad experience – such as use of force, failure to fully investigate, or bad manners.
A new report shows more of those complaints are coming in. The city's Fire and Police Commission discussed that report Tuesday night, which said police are having fewer interactions with people – things like traffic stops – but the rate of complaints per police-citizen contact has spiked.
Complaints can be filed with the FPC or MPD directly, and there can be multiple allegations within each complaint. Since 2020, the city contracted with Wisconsin Policy Forum to analyze data from those complaints.
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"Our role is to put the data together and to report it. My sense is, starting tonight, the FPC will start considering what we found," said Rob Henken, Wisconsin Policy Forum president.
The report states FPC complaints increased 35% from 2021 to 2022. With 143 complaints and 228 allegations, 36% related to department procedures, 29% to department services and 8.5% for use of force.
Milwaukee Police Administration Building
Wisconsin Policy Forum found larger shares of the 228 allegations were either unfounded (28%) or the employee was exonerated (11%). Just one allegation was sustained, a drop from 11 the previous year.
"The numbers bear watching, but nothing that says ‘Wow, something’s going on here,’" Henken said.
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Complaints made directly to MPD stayed roughly the same year to year – 167 in 2021 and 168 in 2022. The 355 allegations in those complaints decreased 14.6% year to year. Roughly 15.3% related to failure to be civil and courteous, 13.9% for failure to fully investigate and 9.6% for failure to treat the public with courtesy and professionalism.
Of 281 allegations investigated and closed in 2022, 138 were not sustained – about a 24% increase from 2021. But to Henken, there was an interesting finding.
"It was so noticeable; reduction in traffic stops and field interviews combined," he said.
Traffic stops were down in all districts in 2022, except for District 5. District 1 reported a 75% decrease, and field interviews were also down across the district.
Henken does not know why, but said it's good information when it comes to FPC policy decisions.
The report also studies how quickly both agencies yield a result when investigating complaints.
The FPC's average is three weeks, and it's closer to four months with the MPD, which drew questions from commissioners in the Complaints and Discipline Committee.
"I understand the need for thoroughness, but if you're a person who's concerned about how your loved one was treated, like, that's a long time," Milwaukee Fire and Police Commissioner Bree Spencer said.
It’s unclear if anything comes from Wisconsin Policy Forum’s research, as Tuesday’s meeting was only informational. However, the FPC contracts this work to inform its decision-making.