- Daniel Steininger is the grandson of former Milwaukee Mayor Daniel Hoan. He leads the Hoan Family Foundation.
- The foundation is asking residents for ideas on the best ways to fight crime in Milwaukee.
- The best ideas will be eligible for cash prizes at a competition later this year.
Next year, the eyes of the nation will be on Milwaukee as it will serve as the host of the Republican National Convention. We all witnessed a similar opportunity two years ago when the Milwaukee Bucks made it to the finals of the NBA. Everyone took pride in our team’s success, but it was also an important boost nationwide to the image of Milwaukee.
Whatever anyone’s political affiliation may be, we can all agree that this will be an ideal opportunity for Milwaukee to showcase its best face to the world. It would help our mayor in his declared goal of increasing our city’s population to reverse its decline.
The Daniel Hoan Foundation is offering cash awards to citizens who can propose workable innovative ideas to reduce crime that lowers the cost of government. Prizes will be awarded as follows: First $20,000; second $15,000; third $5,000. Winners will be announced at the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s annual Salute to Local Government in November.
More:Together, we lit the Daniel Hoan bridge, now we want your best ideas for making Milwaukee safer
I’m proud to periodically share more of the ideas we have been receiving to help reduce crime in Milwaukee:
Envision zero crashes, the end of reckless driving
Vision Zero originated in Sweden in 1995, and these initiatives have been successful in reducing crashes, fatalities, and vehicular violence in dozens of cities.
This proposal would require a serious bipartisan lobbying effort to change state law. To help defray the cost, launch a creative funding effort to mount video cameras at key intersections, using community funding and crowdsourcing through Go Fund Me. Add speed humps to moderately reduce speed and slow down traffic.
Ask the police and the people who live in the communities with the most problems with reckless driving and speeding, and they can tell you exactly which streets are the biggest problems.
Launch outreach program that rewards citizens for helping communities
Using sports role models, for example, players of Marquette or UW-Milwaukee Basketball or Volleyball teams, to speak at high school or grade school gatherings. Start with a positive vision of the success of the project. With the “Be the Difference” program, you can let an officer know what you saw or what knowledge you have.
Develop 15 case study examples in which students can see themselves participating or helping Milwaukee. Have officers and possible email or voicemail addresses or numbers to hand out or post on posters or billboards to get the message out. Much like campaigns, DARE to be the Difference. Speaking up and speaking out to end the violence with a new stream of valuable communication. Breaking through mindsets that the violence cannot be stopped. When in reality, the right person at the right time stepping up to be the difference that can change the outcome.
Combat porch pirates with empty box campaign
The act of stealing a package from a porch can be dangerous if there is a confrontation, but more often, the danger comes from the thief either using a stolen car or stolen license plates and driving recklessly to escape capture or detection. It’s also a nuisance crime that affects a high number of people in Milwaukee and creates a feeling that a neighborhood is unsafe. And when package theft is reported to the police, it creates one more thing burdening police resources, and the rate of arrest for this crime is very low.
I call my solution to this problem Empty Box. My solution undercuts one major advantage of porch piracy: the likelihood of a reward.
Basically, in a coordinated fashion, entire neighborhoods would place and leave empty boxes on their porches. The higher the number of empty boxes in a neighborhood, the less likely a porch pirate will be able to determine which one is actually filled with merchandise.
It’s unlikely that a thief will be noticed if they walk up to a house, take one package, and leave. However, if they do that to multiple houses (and keep finding only empty boxes), it’s more likely neighbors would notice that activity and report it. The element of a quick getaway is gone as they have to physically go from property to property.
Daniel Steininger is the grandson of former Milwaukee Mayor Daniel Hoan. He leads the Hoan Family Foundation and previously served as the chairman of the Harbor Commission of the Port of Milwaukee.