Posted on 05/07/2003 5:51:01 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback
Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. announced Tuesday he has established a gun crime task force that will rely on so-called consent searches of cars in the city, a practice that has been restricted among Milwaukee police.
Police Chief Arthur Jones was conspicuously absent from Clarke's news conference, attended by Mayor John O. Norquist, County Executive Scott Walker, U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic and others. Clarke said Jones was "not invited, for no particular reason."
The chief said later that he didn't respond to Clarke's earlier effort to involve him because "it wasn't necessary," and that he hoped deputies' searches don't violate the rights of innocent citizens.
Consent searches, in which police get drivers' permission to search vehicles stopped for minor infractions, can turn up evidence of more serious crimes. Proponents say the tactic helps police find drugs and guns.
But critics say the practice invites abuse. In 1999, as concerns about racial profiling heated up nationwide, Jones changed Police Department policy to require that officers be able to demonstrate a "reasonable and articulable suspicion of evidence of contraband contained within the vehicle" if they seek consent to search.
Both Clarke and Jones have been mentioned as possible candidates for the 2004 mayor's race, but Clarke said Tuesday's announcement had nothing to do with politics. He said he has been planning the gun initiative for six months because he wanted to give deputies "every resource at our disposal" to combat gun violence.
"Our officers aren't going to need 17 stamps of approval to get things done," he said. "They're going to be able to make decisions themselves."
Clarke calls the new task force the Gun Reduction Interdiction Program, or GRIP. Sixteen deputies, who have taken an extra 40 hours of constitutional rights training, with work in pairs from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and wear special black uniforms, rather than the standard brown.
Clarke said new scanners will allow GRIP deputies to monitor Police Department radio frequencies to better determine where illegal gun activity is taking place. Deputies and police officers cannot communicate with their standard radios - and still won't be able to.
"It's very silly, but we can overcome these things," Clarke said of the communication barrier.
Jones' absence 'telling' Robert "Woody" Welch, the chairman of the Fire and Police Commission, called Jones' absence from the task force "telling."
"One of the primary duties of a chief of police is to work cooperatively with other forms of government," Welch said.
In a March 18 letter to Jones, Clarke invited the Police Department to join the gun program, which he launched April 1.
"Our agencies working together in a cooperative effort by sharing intelligence and manpower would be a very positive step toward the prevention, control and reduction of crime in the city of Milwaukee," Clarke wrote. He said Jones has yet to respond to the letter.
"I don't want to read into the fact that I haven't heard from him," Clarke said. "But what do I have to do?"
Jones said he spoke with Clarke last week about an unrelated matter. "He never mentioned this to me," Jones said.
He expressed concerns about aspects of GRIP.
"Allowing officers to stop and search people, I don't think that that's in the best interest of the citizens of the city of Milwaukee," Jones said.
At the news conference, Norquist said the sheriff's initiative will help deter violent criminals.
"The main reason criminals commit crime is they think they can get away with it," Norquist said.
Some aldermen later expressed general support, though at least one shared Jones' concerns.
Ald. Tom Nardelli, chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee, said everyone can support reducing the number of illegal guns on city streets.
"It really doesn't make a difference who's doing it," he said. "If the sheriff has the kind of resources in his department, and the backing of Scott Walker and the County Board to do it, that's great."
Ald. Willie Hines agreed, with one caveat: "I would hope, however, that innocent individuals aren't harassed and their rights aren't violated in the process."
In December, the Fire and Police Commission directed Jones to develop a plan to fight violent crime. In response, Jones placed up to 300 officers per day on overtime, later reducing that to a maximum of 186 officers. Last week, he cut the extra patrols back to between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Under the sheriff's initiative, deputies are exclusively assigned to gun crime.
"This will be their sole focus," he said. "I can't have them tied up for two or three hours investigating a traffic accident."
Clarke said Milwaukeeans are "not safe in our own homes. We're hostages behind security systems and locked doors.
But police department statistics show violent crime in the city is down 17% compared with last year, with shootings down 26%, the number of people shot down 19% and the number of gun-related incidents down 21%. As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been 33 homicides in Milwaukee, vs. 34 at this point in 2002.
"David Clarke's assertions are not true," Jones said. "The Milwaukee Police Department is effective in reducing crime in city of Milwaukee," Jones said. "The numbers speak for themselves."
Greg J. Borowski of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
That must have been part of their 'extra 40 hours of Constitutional instruction'.
After a felon has completed all of their sentence, including any parole period, then I think that their suffrage is still lost as well as their firearm rights. There are also other prohibitions - some states prevent them from holding elective office, for example.
I don't believe that felons ought to automatically recover their civil rights. I do believe that they ought to have the opportunity, after a period of time (say 20 years) of squeaky-clean living in society, to have judicial review of that loss.
I agree with you that violent firearms crimes ought to have long certain prison terms.
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