2010 MetLife Awards: King Drive Public Safety Initiative
Date Published: 02/13/2012
Author: Alexandra Waldhorn
CASE STUDY
Historic King Drive Business Improvement District and Milwaukee Police Department
2010 MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Neighborhood Revitalization Award
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Composed of over 100 businesses along the historic Dr. Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee, WI, the Business Improvement District (BID), formed in 1992, strives to make this 1.5 mile commercial corridor a thriving local economy. A strong focus of the BID is public safety and maintenance which is supported through a Public Safety Committee which targets the perceptions and realities of crime, fear and disorder. This committee includes a community liaison officer from the Milwaukee Police Department, two beat patrol officers, residents, business owners and property owners in the district. The ongoing tasks of the Public Safety Committee include monitoring liquor licenses and problem establishments. Committee members also identify where BID resources should be allocated by analyzing crime data collected in the City’s ‘Compass’ database. Similarly, the Milwaukee Police Department has modified officer deployment to advance collaborative goals. Since inception of the partnership, the area has welcomed dozens of new businesses and gained over $200 million worth of new commercial and residential development, due in part to drops in real crime and improvements in how the area is perceived.
Topic: --Community Safety
Type: Case study / model practice