Bayside's new police chief, Tom Liebenthal, looks forward to building positive relationship with the community, special needs residents
Ask Tom Liebenthal, the new Bayside village police chief, about his top priority and he'll say it's to build a positive relationship with Bayside community members.
"In my first week, I had multiple people coming here just to meet me. And it's unlike anything I've ever experienced," he said.
Liebenthal has worked in law enforcement for 26 years, first joining the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office. He left that agency in 2014 and joined the Shorewood Police Department where later he held the interim chief position after Peter Nimmer stepped down as Shorewood police chief.
Liebenthal joined the village of Bayside Police Department earlier this summer and was promoted Aug. 15 to chief. He was brought in with the intention of working with the former chief, Doug Larsson, before his retirement.
Expanding the myBlue program
As chief, Liebenthal said he hopes to expand the myBlue program, a policing initiative that pairs an officer with a section of the village. Started in 2019, the myBlue program facilitates communication between police officers and residents for nonemergency issues.
"It's a different twist on community policing. It's almost like everything that's old is new again," he said.
"We already have a really good connection with the community, and one of the things I'd like to try to do is just find more creative ways to have the officers interact and connect with the community," he said.
The department divides the village into eight geographical sectors and assigns an officer to serve each area. Liebenthal's said he wants to expand the program to include more interactions between residents and their assigned officer.
Additionally, as an extension of the myBlue program, the department recognized that some residents with special needs may react differently when coming in contact with officers or firefighters during an emergency situation.
In response, the department created the Special Needs Registry in June, which is available to all residents requiring special needs from conditions like dementia, among others. Residents can provide optional information to a database to help emergency responders provide a more informed response in the case of an emergency.
"This may alter how we approach a situation, which makes it safer for everyone," said Liebenthal.
Hiring and retaining officers
As chief, another priority is hiring and retaining officers, which he said is more challenging than it used to be a couple years ago.
"Where we'd used to have an opening ad and get 100 people applying, now you're lucky if you get five to 10," he said.
"It's a real competitive area right now when it comes to job openings with law enforcement. You're having a lot more people moving from agency to agency because they could improve pay," he added.
Including the chief, the department currently has 12 staff members and and are in the process of hiring one officer and anticipating another opening soon, said Liebenthal.
To attract and retain officers, Liebenthal is advocating for his officers to have opportunities to develop specialties within the department. Specialties could include firearms or taser instructor, or in professional communications, among others.
"As we go through our normal day-to-day activities they can help their fellow officers develop skills. And I think overall it helps us do a better delivery of all the services we provide."
Contact Alex Groth at agroth@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @grothalexandria.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bayside's new police chief, Tom Liebenthal, talks myBlue, staffing
