School resource officers in MPS; determining where to place SROs

MILWAUKEE - It’s still an open question: where will school resource officers be assigned within Milwaukee Public Schools?

MPS, MPD data

By the numbers:

Each year, the Milwaukee Police Department responds to thousands of calls around MPS sites.

From 2013 to 2024, MPD was called 44,000 times. But, 63% of those calls were overnight, from midnight to 6 a.m.

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During the last school year, MPD responded to 3,139 calls to MPS addresses.

While we don't know where MPD will place the school resource officers, Wisconsin law – Act 12 – states MPS is to use crime stats to determine where to place the officers.

SRO solutions

Big picture view:

So, here are some likely choices:

Milwaukee police responded most last school year to the area around Kohn Marshall High School on 64th Street – 116 calls last school year.

Next, police responded to the second-most calls around North Division High School on Center Street – 103 calls. 

Next in order was Riverside University High School, then Barack Obama School of Career and Technical Education, and James Madison Academic Campus.

Across Milwaukee, the most common call to an MPS address was battery, then trouble with juveniles, and then threat.

The busiest day for calls last school year was Monday, and the slowest weekday was Friday.

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But there are a couple of caveats, as it doesn’t mean these calls were the school calling the police. Most were overnight.

Callers could have used the school address as the closest location. For example, someone could call 911 for a problem and the caller tells police it’s happening near the school, as a generally easy-to-understand landmark.

Breaking it down

By the numbers:

Since the pandemic, from April 2021 through the 2024 school year, here are the top 24 schools for calls for service:

1. John Marshall High School – 427
2. Barack Obama school of career and technical education – 340
3. Washington High School of Information Technology – 327
4. North Division High School - 310
5. Riverside University High School 294
6. James Madison Academic Campus 288
7. Casimir Pulaski High School – 276
8. Harold S. Vincent High School – 260
9. Hamilton High School – 242
10. Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee – 241
11. Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School – 228
12. South Division High School – 209
13. Milwaukee High School of the Arts – 209
14. Rufus King International High School – 194
15. Morse Middle School for the Gifted and Talented – 193
16. Rufus King International Middle School – 175
17. Grantosa Drive Elementary School – 174
18. Lincoln Center of the Arts – 167
19. Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning – 161
20. Roosevelt Middle School – 151
21. Lancaster Public School – 150
22. Bay View High School – 135
23. Benjamin Franklin School – 129
24. Audubon Middle and High Schools – 125

The next steps

What's next:

A Milwaukee County judge wants a list by a March 15 deadline, while the case is due back in court two days later, on March 17. They still haven't said what schools might get them.

With MPS having 25 school resource officers, it's likely the top locations for calls will get them. But with 156 schools in the district, they'll have to make some tough decisions.

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