Public Safety

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When you dial 911, you need help. Maybe you've been in a car accident or know a person who is a danger to themselves; maybe you see kids in peril or need help escaping a violent situation. Many times, the help we need doesn't require a gun or a taser or blaring lights and sirens. 

Many times, when people dial 911, they don’t need an armed response or a long delay. They just need help. According to a recent survey here in Wisconsin, nearly 90% of us already agree: change is needed.

Jonathan believes we all deserve a safe place to call home, where neighbors can connect with each other and build something greater together. 

Other American cities—from Denver to Oakland—have begun wildly successful experiments in sending unarmed social workers to thousands of 911 calls that otherwise might have gone to armed police. 

For Denver's STAR program, in a year of work all across their city, not one case has required police. Today, they're ramping up to take on 10,000 calls a year. In Portland, Oregon it’s a similar case—after just one year, independent studies are calling for Portland Street Response to expand city-wide. And in Portland, Maine co-response units with qualified mental health professionals are being sent on calls that used to draw police away from other emergencies. 

Calling 911 should make us safer. Here’s what we can do:

• Commission a local study on 911 calls
• Use the commission findings to more effectively tailor emergency responses
• Have trained mental health professionals respond to behavioral health calls & welfare checks
• Assign social workers, medical professionals, firefighters, and police officers to the calls that would be best served by their respective skills
• Invest in training programs that seek to de-escalate emergency situations
• Save taxpayer dollars by using resources more efficiently and minimizing the number of costly police misconduct lawsuits
• Investigate cost-saving possibilities of MATC officer training, an initiative numerous Milwaukee-area municipalities have  successfully undertaken

Making these changes would mean that when you call 911, you get a faster response from the people best equipped to help.