There were 11,152 police calls to Milwaukee schools during the 2005-’06 school year, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Examples of recent cases: Dozens of students and adults involved in a fight Monday at a high school; one was an adult who carried a young child under her arm as she hit people. Three youths were charged in a disturbance Friday at a middle school, including one charged with possession of a dangerous weapon after he pointed a BB gun at a girl, prompting “pandemonium.” The police department has about 180 vacancies.
Alderman Robert Donovan called the 11,152 total “a clarion call” to fill officer vacancies. John Balcerzak, president of the police union, called the 11,152 figure “shocking.” “There is a crisis inside our school systems,” he said. Peter Pochowski, school security director, said the number reflects increasing violence in society and that the schools are doing their best to hold down police calls through work by safety aides and other staff members. “When we have more problems in the street, eventually it works its way into the schools,” he said.