Milwaukee's next police chief is Ed Flynn.
So they went with the outsider. Do you sense Tom Barrett's frustration?
Personally, I think that's Milwaukee's best hope to turn things around. For well over a year, I've been calling for a new police chief, a crisis manager, a get tough guy to come in and, excuse my language, kick some ass.
I've talked about the "broken windows theory" and Tom Barrett's failure to follow the lead of astoundingly successful Mayor Rudy Giuliani:
This morning on his radio program, Charlie Sykes spoke with Ed Flynn.
Overall, I liked what I heard from Flynn.
I admit that I'm not the most trusting person. Talk is cheap, that sort of thing.
If I had been interviewing candidates to fill Milwaukee's police chief vacancy, I think I would have been impressed by Flynn's ability to articulate a policing philosophy that's been successful in areas deemed hopeless. Utilizing the "broken windows theory" has transformed hellholes like New York City. Certainly, Milwaukee officials should give it a try.
While Flynn was very well-spoken during the interview with Sykes, he sort of reminded me of a student very well-prepared to take a criminology exam, as if he had all the right things memorized and ready to spit back during the test.
What Flynn says doesn't matter. It gets down to Flynn being able to translate theory into action, talk into results.
Milwaukee is overrun with "broken windows."
It's going to take a lot of glass and putty to turn the city around.
Flynn sounds like the man to do it.
I hope he is. I hope he can stop Milwaukee's downward death spiral.
As Milwaukee's next police chief, Edward Flynn will face a series of challenges, from unsafe neighborhoods and frustrated residents, to officer vacancies, tight budgets and impatient politicians.
And an extra hurdle: Winning the confidence of the force as only the second chief in the city's history to come from outside the department.
In a telephone interview after his selection, Flynn said he is ready for them all.
"You're going to see a strong, visible leader," he said, from Springfield, Mass., where he is police commissioner. "I'm somebody who believes absolutely in the collective wisdom of the people who work for me. I also have strong ideas myself about both strategy and tactics."
How Flynn balances those two areas - making changes while building support within in the ranks - might determine his success in the sort of job he has long worked toward, that of a big-city chief.
Flynn won the unanimous backing Thursday of the Fire and Police Commission, as well as strong support from Mayor Tom Barrett in the lengthy search to replace Police Chief Nannette Hegerty.
"In a strong field of exceptional candidates, he is the best, most qualified person for the job of next chief of police," Barrett said.
Today is Hegerty's last day on the job. Flynn is unlikely to be sworn in until December or even early January.
So they went with the outsider. Do you sense Tom Barrett's frustration?
Personally, I think that's Milwaukee's best hope to turn things around. For well over a year, I've been calling for a new police chief, a crisis manager, a get tough guy to come in and, excuse my language, kick some ass.
I've talked about the "broken windows theory" and Tom Barrett's failure to follow the lead of astoundingly successful Mayor Rudy Giuliani:
BROKEN WINDOWS THEORY
Solving the Doyle/Crime Problem
Murder Capital Milwaukee
Milwaukee's Crime Crisis: Broken Promises and Excuses
This morning on his radio program, Charlie Sykes spoke with Ed Flynn.
Overall, I liked what I heard from Flynn.
I admit that I'm not the most trusting person. Talk is cheap, that sort of thing.
If I had been interviewing candidates to fill Milwaukee's police chief vacancy, I think I would have been impressed by Flynn's ability to articulate a policing philosophy that's been successful in areas deemed hopeless. Utilizing the "broken windows theory" has transformed hellholes like New York City. Certainly, Milwaukee officials should give it a try.
While Flynn was very well-spoken during the interview with Sykes, he sort of reminded me of a student very well-prepared to take a criminology exam, as if he had all the right things memorized and ready to spit back during the test.
What Flynn says doesn't matter. It gets down to Flynn being able to translate theory into action, talk into results.
Milwaukee is overrun with "broken windows."
It's going to take a lot of glass and putty to turn the city around.
Flynn sounds like the man to do it.
I hope he is. I hope he can stop Milwaukee's downward death spiral.
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