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| NEWS > 16 November 2007 |
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Mickelberg case prompts call f
A criminologist has called for Western Australia Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan to have more powers to deal with under-performing senior officers.
The call by criminologist David Indermaur comes after a public apology by Commissioner O'Callaghan to the Mickelberg brothers yesterday and a number of other problems with high-profile cases this year.
Mr Indermaur says many of the problem cases have been from the 90s and earlier.
He says there should be a review of the WA Police Service.
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The Associated Press
16 November 2007
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Milwaukee Police Department, W
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New Milwaukee Police Chief Fac
Edward Flynn knows the police chief's job is the toughest in town.
He'll soon find out just how tough when he takes over a department whose previous chief had to tackle crime not only committed on the street but also by her own officers.
On Thursday, the city's Police and Fire Commission approved the hiring of Flynn, the 59-year-old police commissioner of Springfield, Mass. He succeeds Nanette Hegerty, who is retiring Friday after a tumultuous four-year term.
During her time as chief, Hegerty fired 45 officers and five recruits — more than any chief in city history — from a department blemished by a string of embarrassing incidents involving officers.
Three officers were convicted in federal court in July of beating a biracial man outside an officer's housewarming party and violating his civil rights. Four others pleaded guilty to similar federal charges. Hegerty fired nine officers over the beating and disciplined four others. Two of those fired won back their jobs.
After the verdicts, Hegerty said changes she implemented — stricter hiring practices, officer background checks and a zero-tolerance misconduct policy — helped restore the community's trust.
In other incidents, one officer was found to have stolen his cousin's identity, one was convicted of sexually assaulting three women and another was accused of devising a fake crime to cover up injuries a fellow officer suffered while sledding on duty.
Hegerty, Milwaukee's first female police chief, drew praise from some for her swift action in handling the problems among her staff, but others blamed her for low morale and questioned why so many officers went bad.
"He's got a daunting task on his hands," police union president John Balcerzak said of Flynn. "He's got to fight not only the crime rate in the City of Milwaukee but he's got to fight internal issues that are percolating throughout the department."
Balcerzak said he hopes Flynn further raises the standards for new hires. He also wants Flynn to hire more officers.
The department in the city of around 603,000 has 1,909 officers and 721 civilian employees.
Milwaukee homicides hit a 16-year-low in 2004 with 87. But the number rose to 121 in 2005 before dropping to 103 last year. The city has seen a 21 percent decrease in nonfatal shootings in the first nine months of 2007 compared with the same period the year before.
In Massachusetts, Flynn led a force with 448 officers and nearly 100 civilians serving a city of 155,000. He boasts reducing overall crime in Springfield by 7 percent in the first six months of the year.
Before becoming chief in March 2006, Flynn was the state secretary of public safety under then-Gov. Mitt Romney. He previously was chief of police in Braintree, Mass., Chelsea, Mass., and Arlington County, Va.
Flynn told reporters in Springfield on Thursday he would help restore the Milwaukee department's image by running a transparent organization, emphasizing community outreach and shedding light on the compassion and courage of officers.
"All too often the critical incident that goes awry is the one that people draw their conclusions from," he said. "We have to make sure people understand they've got a good police department."
Flynn said he would to travel to Milwaukee after Thanksgiving to begin making plans for the department. Until he starts his new job in a few weeks, Deputy Chief Dale Schunk is expected to run the force.
Mayor Tom Barrett said Flynn would bring a fresh perspective to the city and improve the department's public image.
"I believe Ed Flynn at this time is the best person to head this department," Barrett said.
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