Milwaukee police planning ‘curfew center’ for young offenders
By Kendall Keys
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Milwaukee police say they’re working to establish a “curfew center” for young offenders.
Last weekend, three people, including two teenagers, were shot on Water Street. Dylan Jackson, 22, died. There were crowds of young people gathered downtown that night, and it’s something Milwaukee police plan to crack down on before summer.
Days after the shooting, WISN 12 News asked Milwaukee police about their plans to restore order downtown.
“We’ve really worked with the Department of Community Wellness and Safety, and we’re going to be establishing a pilot program for a curfew center on Fridays and Saturday nights,” Milwaukee Police Capt. Robert Thiel said.
According to city ordinance, anyone 17 and younger is not allowed on the streets from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
“The goal is to, we’re able to get some of these youth and then take them to the facility. We can drop them off and get those police officers back into patrol as fast as we can,” Thiel said.
The location of the curfew center is still in the works.
“We are going to partner with some community advocates that take potential curfew violators and try and get them some wraparound services to figure out what’s causing the curfew. Is it home issue? Is it food issues? What’s causing this for them to be out past curfew and to try and mitigate it from occurring in the future,” Thiel said.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he’s on board.
“I’m having conversations about everything. Every possible tool, every possible option to keep the citizens of Milwaukee safe,” Johnson said.
MPD said it has been working on the curfew centers with the city’s Department of Community Wellness and Safety.
“I believe Karin Tyler is going to be official director, I think it’s today. And then, we can keep moving forward on this,” Thiel said.
“This summer?” WISN 12 News reporter Kendall Keys asked.
“Oh, absolutely. I’m hoping with the next week or two,” Thiel said.
In a twist, the Milwaukee Common Council moved to delay confirming Karin Tyler as director on Tuesday.
“I have some grave concerns in regards to the appointment’s ability to run a department,” Alderwoman Sharlen Moore said at the Tuesday meeting.
Moore told 12 News Wednesday she had concerns about funding for the department and wanted more time for the common council to further vet the mayor’s appointment.
“It’s not necessarily about the individual. It’s about what is it that the council is in charge to do? And it’s making sure that there are qualified individuals and leaders that are heading city departments,” Moore said.
“Is the delay of this going to potentially delay that program?” Keys asked Mayor Johnson. “Well, evidently so,” Johnson said. “You can’t have direction in that office without a director. I believe the spirit of state law says exactly that. You can’t hire, you can’t fire. It causes a delay, not just in the appointment, but in some of the exercising the powers of that office. So I think there’s a lot of sense of urgency in getting this done. I hope the council shares that urgency.”
“This is something that is so important, not only to me, but to the city. We understand what has been going on in the city over the last few weeks. We need the support of the Department of Community Wellness and Safety. OK, then we need the mayor to tell us how are they planning, what’s the plan to fund the department?”
The mayor’s office said the mayor is very interested in making sure the necessary resources are directed to the department during the regular budget planning process.
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