Marquette University Police Department’s newly established traffic enforcement unit has made 200 traffic stops, leading to 171 citations and 14 arrests for OWI’s in the first 11 weeks of operation.
As part of the initiative, officers have been provided with new resources to closely monitor traffic patterns in their jurisdiction on and around campus, including new speed detection devices and specialized training in traffic enforcement. The unit is staffed by on-duty officers without direct assignments.
MUPD Sergeant Josiah Williams who is leading the initiative said the program aims to address drivers along busy campus thoroughfares at speeds well above posted limits, citing incidents of drivers traveling at speeds over 70 miles per hour.
The move comes after several traffic incidents in recent years. Joseph Daniels, former Dean of the College of Business Administration was struck by a vehicle and died in February 2020. Another incident near 11th Street and Wisconsin Avenue killed Michael David Starks in July 2024. Williams said the initiative is designed to reduce incidents such as these.
“We wanted to make sure that we were doing our part to make the area in the campus safer,” Williams said.
MUPD is working on this venture alongside the Milwaukee Police Department, itself no stranger to handling traffic incidents. Their traffic safety unit has issued 2,631 speeding citations so far this year.The unit also issues citations for other offenses such as signal and sign violations.
The intention of Marquette’s unit is to collaborate with MPD on goals related to traffic safety, including ones reducing OWI incidents and seat belt violations.
Williams said MUPD will also work with other police departments in the area to decide which methods to adopt into their unit.
“We’re gonna have to sit down with other departments in the area and see what they are doing,” Williams said.
The City of Milwaukee has adopted a Vision Zero Action Plan to eliminate traffic deaths by 2037. So far, they’ve installed traffic calming measures like curb bump outs and speed humps in high traffic areas.
Since the beginning of the MUPD’s traffic enforcement unit on June 1, there has been a 165% increase in traffic stops from the same period in 2024.
This story was written by Sahil Gupta. He can be reached at [email protected].
