OPERATION SUMMER GUARDIAN Thursday, May 21st, 2026 - September 27th, 2026.
The Milwaukee Police Department conducted a summer policing initiative from May 21st, 2026 to September 27th, 2026 known as Operation Summer Guardian.This was the fifth year of this initiative, and involved lessons learned from the previous years. MPD Districts 2-5 and District 7 were designated as the deployment districts. New this year was the addition of the Community Resource Division to the deployment. Operation Summer Guardian continued its focus on positive interactions with neighborhood residents and a collaborative effort with community partners. We know based on specific incidents from the previous Operation Summer Guardian that citizens were very appreciative of just the mere presence of the officers in their neighborhoods. One of the methods we continued to use was the "Park, Walk and Talk." The additional presence strengthened relationships between the police and the community, and discouraged loitering, curfew violations, illegal gambling and other quality of life issues. Operation Summer Guardian continued to promote the Mission and Vision of the Milwaukee Police Department which are both described below.
Operation Summer Guardian continued to promote the Mission and Vision of the Milwaukee Police Department.
MISSION:
By using effective community engagement, we will impact crime, help build sustainable neighborhoods and foster positive community relations.
Vision:
To be a department where every member works with our community to help build sustainable healthy neighborhoods, free of crime and maintained by positive relationships.
Objective:
To effectively deploy uniformed personnel throughout identified geographical areas which are experiencing high volumes of shots fired (Shot-Spotter) and violent crime. Said deployments are based on statistical data generated from Crime Analysts, Intelligence Fusion Center, Office of Management Analysis & Planning and District Commanders.
The secondary objective of the 2026 mission was the reduction of youth gun violence and gun possession with the mission boundaries. This will be accomplished with a twofold approach of youth outreach and proactive enforcement of youth illegally possessing firearms and youth wanted in connection with violent crimes.
New this year, School Resource Officers (SROs) were integrated into the deployment, bringing their specialized experience in youth engagement, conflict resolution, and relationship-building. SROs enhanced the "Park, Walk, and Talk" strategy by leveraging their established connections with students and families to foster trust, provide mentorship, and identify at-risk youth before issues escalated. Their presence supported collaborative efforts with community partners, expand outreach opportunities, and improve information sharing, ultimately strengthening both prevention efforts and targeted enforcement related to youth violence.
PRE-DEPLOYMENT EXECUTION:
MPD messages our community partners and communicates through social media and with a press releases involving our joint systems partners, prior to deployments beginning.
A community survey, pre-survey and post survey are assembled by OMAP and are sent to our partners by the MPD Community Engagement Manager prior to commencement and at the end of the operation.
The mission of Summer Guardian is in its name, "Guardian". It is vital that the appearance of officers in concentrated areas be not perceived as an occupying force. To that end, messaging of the objective will be done so that the public knows why there is an increased presence of officers in their neighborhoods at times.
MPD will message our community partners and communicate through social media and with a press conference involving our joint systems partners, prior to deployments beginning.
Pre-deployment door hangers that message Summer Guardian and the increased police presence in communities will be developed by the Community Engagement Manager and will be distributed to affected neighborhoods through Patrol resources in the respective districts.
A community survey pre-survey and post-survey will be assembled by OMAP and will be sent to our partners by MPD Community Engagement Manager prior to commencement and at the end of the operation.
Members will receive Collins Agreement refresher training prior to the operation to ensure that all stops that occur are based on individualized, objective, articulable reasonable suspicion (IOARS). This training will be conducted by the Police Academy staff and will include messaging regarding the enforcement of curfew and parental responsibilities, to include investigations related to Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor if applicable.
OMAP will provide the pre deployment analysis of violent crimes to include ShotSpotter activity, non-fatal shootings, homicides and shots fired calls for service, then utilize that information to determine deployment zones, considering available resources.
EXECUTION:
Operation Summer Guardian commenced May 21st, 2026 and concluded on September 27th, 2026. There were 76 deployments of 2026 Operation Summer Guardian. The deployments took place on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays, with hours of operation taking place between 7:00 a.m., - 07:00 p.m.
RESULTS:
It is important to note that the number of traffic stops, field interviews (terry stop), no-action encounters, frisks and/or searches were not used as a performance indicator or in any way to evaluate performance. Summer Guardian deployed officers were not actively looking for curfew violations and parental responsibility violations, however, when conducting investigations, if those violations were found, they were addressed.
The following arrests and recoveries were made by 2026 Operation Summer Guardian deployed officers during the 76 deployments:
In order to be successful, we need your help. If there is an emergency, immediately call 911. Anyone with any information regarding any crime is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or P3 Tips App.
Milwaukee Area Guide to Community Resources
