Early Intervention in Law Enforcement: Captain Liam Looney – Milwaukee PD

As a Captain with the Milwaukee Police Department (WI), Liam Looney understands that success in modern policing comes from addressing possible issues before they occur. He put it clearly: “Capture in real time what our officers are doing. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong?” This approach serves two key purposes.

• First, it alerts agencies to potential behaviors before they develop into liability concerns
• Second, it recognizes good officer performance, helping agencies strengthen employee retention

The balance matters. Even your best officer can undo years of good work with one policy violation. When incidents occur, leaders must never say, “We saw it coming.” As Captain Looney states: “Because if we saw it coming and then it hits…we failed as supervisors.”

Milwaukee PD has implemented ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) training to teach officers to intervene when they see misconduct. This reflects the growing focus on officer wellness and leadership accountability in Law Enforcement. The bottom line for police command staff: “I should never say that I saw it coming…because that means I failed as a boss.”