Menomonee Falls police report rising Group A offenses, staffing shortfall and new technology costs

Police Chief Mark Waters told the Village of Menomonee Falls Board of Trustees on April 21 that Group A offenses were up in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, the department is operating below authorized staffing levels, and the department is investing in technology as part of the Axon ecosystem.

The update: Waters gave a quarterly operations briefing that covered staffing, training, enforcement data and technology. He said the department was authorized for 65 sworn officers and, as of March 31, had 64 assigned; he later updated the board to say 62 were assigned as of the date of the briefing because of recent resignations. He said three recruits were in the police academy, one officer was in field training, and two officers were on military leave through 2025.

Waters said the department expects two known departures in the next 30 days, which he said would lower the number of fully trained officers to about 54 if those departures occur. He described that as “a very, very low number.”

Waters presented enforcement and crime data showing a rise in Group A offenses — the state and federal classification for more serious crimes — and said drug offenses account for the largest portion of that increase, driven chiefly by marijuana recovered during traffic stops. He also said Group B (less-serious arrest offenses) arrests were down about 25% from the first quarter of 2024. Traffic crashes were down overall, though the department recorded one fatal crash in the quarter.

On enforcement activity, Waters said written warnings were down slightly while parking tickets and traffic citations were up; juvenile state violations rose and he noted one individual accounted for six of those violations. He described criminal charging as up and said clearance rates for some offenses support those higher charge counts.

Waters reviewed recent specialized operations and technology. He said the department’s canine unit recorded 14 deployments in the quarter and that joint drug interdiction with the Waukesha County task force included one traffic stop that yielded more than $52,000 in currency and about 9 ounces of cocaine. He described two pursuits during the quarter and said one was terminated after officers conducted a cost-benefit and risk analysis.

The presentation included details about the department’s Axon ecosystem contracts: body-worn camera service (about $53,000 per year; five-year contract through 2027), vehicle/squad camera live streaming (about $39,000 per year; contract through 2028), and replacement/upfit costs for TASER 10 devices (about $59,000 per year; five-year contract). Waters said the TASER 10 increases effective range and probe redundancy compared with the previous generation and that Axon integration automatically activates cameras when a firearm or taser is drawn.

Waters also described training updates (Lieutenant Eckert completed Northwestern’s 10-week School of Police Staff and Command; two detectives attended a Milwaukee detectives development course), directed patrol hours, and a summary of top crash locations in the village.

A trustee asked procedural questions about the vehicle leasing decision, including when the village moved to leases (Waters said “last fall”), whether the lessor manages routine maintenance (Waters said vehicles remain under warranty but routine maintenance is performed in-house), and how open-ended leases are evaluated. Waters also described hiring qualifications for police aides (high school graduate, 18 years of age, and no disqualifying record for future police officer eligibility).

Waters concluded by outlining potential future initiatives, including recording interview and booking rooms to integrate with the Axon evidence platform, evaluating firearm suppressors for rifles for hearing protection, and facility remodeling and a public training center.