Milwaukee police set foundation for change, but racial disparities in stops, searches continue

The Milwaukee Police Department has laid a foundation for improved constitutional policing, but the work remaining is the most challenging — actually ushering in a department-wide culture change that reduces racial disparities in stops and searches.

That was the conclusion of the latest report evaluating the Police Department’s compliance with a landmark $3.4 million settlement agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, which argued in court that Black and Latino residents were disproportionately stopped and searched by police, often without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

Five years after entering that agreement — which has forced the department to overhaul its training and oversight of officers — the disparities in Milwaukee’s streets persist.

The report found that, in 2022, Black residents were 4½ times more likely to be subjected to a traffic stop and eight times more likely to be frisked — figures that have mostly remained consistent over the last five years. And too often, officers don't document the reasonable suspicion behind those stops and searches.

“Adherence to the Fourth Amendment constitutional standards for conducting frisks remains a concern,” the report said.

Despite that, the report, produced by the Boston-based Crime and Justice Institute, again noted a sincere desire within the Police Department’s leadership for “bettering the system for the people who live, work in and visit the city of Milwaukee.”

“These kinds of changes within departments with long histories and established practices do not come easily,” the report said.

Here’s what to know about the latest developments in the Police Department’s constitutional policing reform:

Milwaukee Police Department disparities between Black people and white people in stops and searches haven't improved in the last five years

For the most part, the racial disparities in stops and searches between Black and white residents has remained consistent since the settlement agreement was reached. From 2019 through 2022, Black residents have been between 3.8 and 4.8 times as likely to be pulled over by police.

The reports haven't detected a significant disparity for traffic stops between white and Latino and Hispanic drivers, however.

Over those same years, Black residents have been between 7.8 and 9.9 times as likely to be frisked, with one exception. In 2021, Black residents were 18 times as likely to be frisked compared to white people. That figure shrunk back down to eight times as likely in 2022.

During the same period, Latino and Hispanic people have been between 1.3 and 2.4 times as likely to be frisked compared to white people. But in 2022, researchers found no significant difference.

Milwaukee Police Department still intends to do more analysis on racial disparities

Police officials said last year the department intended to conduct an additional analysis to determine the source of the racial disparities.

That analysis hasn't started, Chief of Staff Heather Hough said.

“We are currently identifying the appropriate metrics to utilize and we don’t have a definitive timeline,” she said.

Hough said the department expects to spend around $50,000 to hire a third party to do the analysis.

MPD's documentation of reasonable suspicion for stops and searches has improved, but it doesn't satisfy terms of the settlement agreement

The settlement agreement requires the Police Department to document the reasonable suspicion behind 85% of all traffic stops, frisks and other types of encounters.

Reports from the Crime and Justice Institute have audited that documentation in six-month chunks since 2019.

The Police Department has consistently met the 85% threshold for traffic stops but has never had passing marks for frisks. The department had its biggest leap in improvement — 24 percentage points — from the second half of 2021 into the first half of 2022, when 30% of frisks didn't have a documented reasonable suspicion.

The figure then climbed to 35% in the second half of 2022, the latest data available.

Final CJI Year 5 Data Analysis Report by Larry Gallup on Scribd

Milwaukee police supervisors need more accountability, report says

The Police Department has instituted three rounds of training for officers about fair and unbiased policing, the report said. But implementing systems to flag problematic policing are still a work in progress.

The report said the department recently launched a system that automatically alerts supervisors when an officer is involved in three incidents within one year that involve documentation of reasonable suspicion that isn't detailed enough, is legally unsupported or is based on racial or ethnic profiling.

However, the report noted there's concern over how much accountability supervisors are subject to.

The Police Department is working to improve in that area, but the Crime and Justice Institute noted it “remains concerned this occurs on a more case-by-case basis rather than a system-wide process.”

Specifically, the report said the Police Department hasn't completed the first of what should be a recurring audit that would identify supervisors who fail to require re-training or discipline for officers who conduct unconstitutional encounters with civilians.

Final CJI Year Five Annual Report by Larry Gallup on Scribd

Milwaukee Police Department acknowledges shortcomings

In a statement, the Police Department acknowledged the racial disparities and said it's eager to start on an additional analysis.

But the department also expressed pride in the accomplishments made toward compliance with the settlement agreement, saying it has already created extra reviews, audits and protections not required by the agreement. That includes internal reviews of stops and frisks and monthly meetings with the chief, district commanders and other leadership on community engagement efforts.

“The department has put systems in place that go above and beyond the requirements of the agreement to ensure our department members are building trust and legitimacy through fair and impartial policing in the City of Milwaukee,” the department said.

ACLU: ‘It remains clear that this settlement is still needed’

The ACLU of Wisconsin, however, was much more critical of the Police Department. It pointed out the agreement calls for the department to reach, and sustain, full compliance with the settlement agreement for five years.

And five years after reaching the agreement, the department hasn't yet reached full compliance for one year.

“While it is certainly a positive step that the recorded volume of unconstitutional policing has diminished since the settlement was established, the extent to which Black Milwaukeeans continue to be overpoliced and discriminated against is unacceptable," ACLU attorney Olga Akselrod said. "As we reach the fifth year ..., it remains clear that this settlement is still needed.”

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Racial disparities in stops and searches with Milwaukee police persist