New police unit has busy six months

It’s no longer called the vice squad. But the Milwaukee Police Department’s newly formed Special Investigations Division has been busy seizing guns, drugs and cash during its first six months, Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday.

The team has made about 500 arrests, seized 133 guns, recovered nearly $300,000 in drug money, and gotten heroin and other drugs off city streets, Barrett said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.

The Special Investigations Division was created by Police Chief Alfonso Morales shortly after he took over the department. It essentially replaces the gang and vice squads dismantled by his predecessor, Edward Flynn.

Flynn’s decision to disband those squads faced criticism, especially from the Milwaukee Police Association, the union that represents about 1,600 rank-and-file officers.

The update on the Special Investigations Division comes as Milwaukee officials are working on the city’s 2019 budget plan.

Barrett has proposed a $299.6 million budget for the Police Department, which is an increase of $5.9 million from the 2018 budget. His budget proposal includes a slight bump in the number of Milwaukee police officers.

“Now what I don’t know is, I don’t know how the council is going to react to that,” Barrett said. “Obviously, we feel that that’s a necessary increase.”

Barrett’s budget plan includes funding for 100 new police recruits. It would only amount to a 10-officer increase because many of those new hires would replace longtime officers who are retiring.

Barrett said the city is also set to lose $985,000 in grants during 2019.

DeSiato added that since the division was created about six months ago, nonfatal shootings have decreased about 16%.