Brian Barkow Files Candidacy for Milwaukee County Sheriff
Law enforcement leader and lifelong Milwaukee resident Brian Barkow issued the following statement after filing his candidacy for Milwaukee County Sheriff in the August 9, 2022 Democratic primary:
“For the past 24 years, I have driven progress and innovation as a law enforcement officer, investigative supervisor, and executive in the Sheriff’s Office. Using my degree in computer science, I have designed tools to increase efficiency, transparency, and trust in our agency. As a bureau commander in Sheriff Lucas’ administration, I have led our detectives in bringing justice to the survivors of violent crime. Now, as your sheriff, I will implement new, data-driven strategies that build upon our momentum. Together, we will make our parks and expressways safe, achieve greater trust with the residents we serve, and advance conditions in the Milwaukee County Jail while cutting down on overtime spending.”
As sheriff, Brian will implement a comprehensive vision of public safety through sound public policy:
- Safeguarding Our Families: As a husband, father, and son, Brian knows that our families, our youth, and our elders deserve to be safe in our parks, on our expressways, and in our county buildings. Brian will overhaul the agency’s deployment strategies to ensure shorter response times, higher-visibility patrols, and a year-round law enforcement presence in our parks that partners with residents, advocates, and park users to solve safety challenges through true community policing.
- Upholding Our Trust: Brian will honor our trust by focusing on what truly matters: keeping us safe and protecting our rights. He will dedicate law enforcement resources to preventing violence in our parks, investigating human trafficking, and stopping reckless driving in high-volume areas of our freeways, not non-violent offenses like the use of marijuana, which Brian believes should be legalized for personal use by adults and properly regulated. And Brian will use state-of-the-art management tools to save taxpayer dollars by cutting down on overtime spending, saving taxpayer dollars.
- Advancing Jail Conditions: Under Brian’s leadership, the Milwaukee County Jail will provide a safe, humane, and properly staffed facility that gets beyond the 20-year-old Christensen consent decree. The jail will provide a safe, dignified and respectful environment for persons in custody who are transgender or non-binary, whose needs are too often overlooked in jail settings. Brian will be a constant presence in the jail, supervising its operations and ensuring the well-being of everyone detained and working there. Brian will invest agency-wide in recruitment and retention efforts that boost employee engagement, involve officers in policymaking discussions, and reward talent and dedication.
- Protecting Public Access: Brian will stand up for the public’s right to transparency. During his career, he has personally built web-based systems to publicize jail data and provide the public with easier access to agency services. As sheriff, he will ensure that information on internal investigations is made public, and accessible on agency websites, to the extent allowable by law.
Brian grew up on Milwaukee’s northwest side and graduated from Custer High School and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. He is a 24-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, where he serves as a bureau commander. Brian resides in Milwaukee with his wife Aisha. They are the proud parents of two adult children.
Follow Brian on Twitter (@BrianMBarkow) and Facebook (@barkowforsheriff).
Authorized and paid for by Brian Barkow for Sheriff.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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