DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The De Pere Police Department is taking a new approach to policing. Last month, they hired a social worker.
John Bushmaker is a Northeast Wisconsin native who has worked in Brown County and Milwaukee.
“My role is ultimately to look at referrals that the police officers give me. And my goal is to be, at first it’s reactive with a goal of being proactive.”
Bushmaker tells FOX 11 he plans to track data to see if the community members he interacts with are less likely to need police intervention.
“If they’re struggling with insurance, mental health, dealing with poverty issues, that I can go in there and hook them up with community resources. And the ultimate goal is that they’ll have less police interaction.”
In his first month, Bushmaker has been busy. He says he’s had about 25 referrals.
“I’m assuming that this case load is going to increase, but that’s okay. That just goes to show there’s a lot of things we may not be aware of even around basic anxiety or if there’s a domestic violence issue, or drugs and alcohol.”
Jonathon Hansen is the De Pere Common Council president. Council approved creating this position in February.
FOX 11 asked Hansen if the creation of this position was in response to George Floyd’s death, which sparked protests around the nation last summer.
“Last year I think really helped give more of an impetus to move forward with this and we’re proud to be one of the first ones in this region to have this type of position.”
“I am in the department. So that allows me to sit next to the officers and all of my other coworkers, to have those conversations, those difficult conversations where we can talk about things,” Bushmaker said.
“How do you think that will be beneficial to have those difficult conversations?” FOX 11 asked him.
“I mean ultimately, for police officers, and any profession you have to check your bias and see what things are going on if you’re going out on some crisis calls,” Bushmaker replied.
Bushmaker says there may be opportunities to help de-escalate situations if he has rapport with a person or family.
Hansen says other communities have already expressed interest in hiring social workers to police departments.
“It’s certainly worth the investment if local communities can make it happen,” Hansen said.
Eau Claire and Janesville’s police departments have also hired social workers.
