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Milwaukee Police Department updates SOPs on lateral hires, mental-health detentions, canines and property management
Summary
At the Fire and Police Commission meeting Sept. 4, the Milwaukee Police Department described changes to several standard operating procedures covering lateral transfers, chapter 51 detentions for people in crisis, use and care of facility dogs, and property-control recordkeeping.
The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission heard a communication Sept. 4 from Milwaukee Police Department officials outlining updates to multiple standard operating procedures, including new rules for lateral transfers, procedures for people in mental-health crisis, handling of facility dogs and changes to property-control systems.
Assistant Chief Sarno told the commission the changes to SOP 270 (Field Training and Evaluation Program) add language for lateral transfers. Out‑of‑state lateral hires that began in August are required to complete the department’s full 25‑week academy, while in‑state laterals complete a shorter phase‑4 portion of the academy that Sarno described as a six‑week segment. The SOP text also sets differing evaluation counts: the definition section indicates 15 monthly evaluations for in‑state laterals and 10 monthly evaluations for out‑of‑state laterals; Sarno said he would review how those numbers were selected and report back to the commission.
On SOP 160 (Persons with Mental Illness), Sarno said the department added procedures governing voluntary conveyances to the Mental Health Emergency Center (MHEC). If a voluntary patient later presents a significant danger to themselves or others, MPD may return to MHEC to determine whether a Chapter 51 detention is required. Sarno described steps for evaluating suicidal prisoners at district stations or at the central booking division and noted the department’s on‑site clinician (identified in the meeting as a Wellpath nurse) may perform evaluations when on duty. Sarno and commissioners discussed that the on‑site clinician is not staffed 24/7 and other resources — the Advanced Crisis Intervention Team (MPD officers with specialized training) and the county’s Mobile Crisis Team (a separate entity) — may be called when needed. The commission requested a future meeting that includes county representatives to clarify the roles, frequency of use and staffing limits of the county Mobile Crisis Team and MPD crisis response units.
SOP 320 (Canines) now includes a purpose statement for the department’s facility dogs, requires canines to be leashed unless in an enclosed area, requires boarding of facility dogs when a handler travels away from Milwaukee for an extended period, and adds requirements for initial training and access to medical care. Sarno said some grammatical edits were made across canine policy language.
SOP 560 (Property) reflects a transition from the dated WinAce platform to the FileOnQ electronic property management system and shifts responsibility for annual property audits to the Property Control Division rather than Internal Affairs. The property SOP also adds procedures for temporary sign‑outs of property for reasons other than court and updates the public opening hours for the property control office.
Commissioners asked for more detail on how often chapter 51 holds are used, how often Advanced Crisis Intervention Team or Mobile Crisis Team responses occur, and for clearer public materials that explain the different mental‑health response teams and how they are dispatched. A commissioner also asked whether school resource officer (SRO) training will be incorporated into the SOP updates in accordance with a memorandum of understanding; Sarno said that had not yet been discussed.
The commission took no formal vote on the SOP changes at the meeting; MPD staff presented the updates and answered clarifying questions and the commission requested follow‑up information and a potential joint briefing with county partners.
