Police Department

Click on any of the following for more information:

Press Releases

Click here to view press releases from the Milton Police Department.

Police Chief's Welcome

Welcome to the Milton Police Department Website. I am very proud of the professional staff of the Milton Police Department. It is an honor for all of us to serve the community and enjoy the high quality of life in Milton. Effective policing involves the entire community united in a team effort. All of you are an integral part of this team and we always welcome any suggestions, comments etc.

Police Department Mission Statment and Responsibilities

We, the members of the Milton Police Department, are committed to these values:

• Human Life
  We revere human life and dignity above all else.
• Respect
  We respect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the community that we serve and protect. We strive for sensitivity to, and an understanding of, this diversity.
• Integrity
  We believe in the principles embodied in the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin. We recognize the authority of federal, state and local laws.
• Excellence
  We strive for personal and professional excellence, dedication to duty, and service to the public.
• Accountability
  We are accountable to each other and to the citizens we serve and protect, who are the source of our authority.
• Cooperation
  We believe that cooperation among ourselves; members of the community, governmental entities, and other law enforcement agencies will enable us to combine our diverse backgrounds, skills, and styles to achieve common goals.
• Ourselves
  We are capable, caring people who perform important and satisfying work for our community.
• Problem Solving
  We are most effective in our work when we identify and solve problems. In this way, we not only help the community we serve and protect, but we make the Milton Police Department more efficient and responsive.

Milton Police Background

The Milton Police Department employs ten full-time officers and several part-time officers. The Milton Police Department operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Office staff is available Monday through Friday 7 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Milton Police Department History

On November 1^st, 1990, Chief Hawkins became The City of Milton’s second Police Chief. Back in 1923 when Milton was a village, E.F. Barnes was hired to serve as the Superintendent of Waterworks, Village Marshall, Assistant Fire Chief and Plumbing Inspector.

A city services publication dated 1947 stated the police department was made up of a policeman and two deputies. It read, “They are Mr. (Lean “Two Gun”) Todd, Mr. Risdon and Mr. Werfal. We have a jail that is not state inspected. The jail has many fine points. It has many fingerprints. There are about 600 finger prints of travelers, who have slept in the jail overnight.”

A new village hall was needed and in 1955 one was built on Parkview Dr. At that time, the police department, city hall, and the water department housed the building. The police chief’s office was built over a large water tank in the basement of this building.

The Village of Milton and Milton Junction eventually came together in 1967 and formed the City of Milton. A police chief was needed and Don Chesmore was hired to fill that role. Chesmore was the first Police Chief of the City of Milton. Previously Chesmore had served as a member of the Rock County Sheriff’s Department and Police Chief of Milton Junction.

Chesmore served as Milton’s Police Chief for 27 years before being succeeded by Police Chief Terry Hawkins. Hawkins served as Police Chief until January of 2005. Sergeant/Investigator Thomas A. Gilland was promoted to the Chief of Police position inMay of 2005. Chief Gilland was with the Milton Police Department for 27 years. Chief Gilland started in July 1978 as a part-time officer, became full time June of 1979 as a patrol officer. He was promoted to Sergeant/Investigator in 2002, and promoted to Chief in 2005. Chief Gilland retired in 2008 after 29 1/2 years of service to the City of Milton.

In August of 2008, Jerry Schuetz began as the Chief of Police for the City of Milton.He has served as Manawa police chief and an officer in Appleton and the village of Maple Bluff. He also teaches criminal justice at UW-Platteville.

In November of 2010 Chief Schuetz became the City Administrator/Interim Chief of Police, and in May 2011 Dan Layber was hired as the new police chief.  Previously, Layber worked as a special agent for the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ). 

Milton’s first dispatcher was Patty Griffin. She dispatched the officers using a CB Radio from her home. At night and on weekends officer’s wives would also dispatch.

Today, the police department employs ten full time officers. Dispatching services are provided by the Rock County Dispatch Center. Rock County has one centralized dispatch, which provides services to all the police agencies in Rock County.

The police department has recently gone through a remodel project and currently uses the entire building located at 120 Parkview Dr. The police department contains a conference room, briefing room, offices for the chief and two sergeants, sally port, locker workout room, interview rooms, evidence room, storage space, and office space for two clerks.

Communication Services

The Milton Police Department receives its dispatching services through the Rock County Communications Center located in Janesville, WI.

The Rock County Communications Center also dispatches for local fire and EMS.

The Rock County Communications Center is nationally accredited through the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

Community Service Officer/School Resource Officer

The Milton Police Department School Resource Officer Jim Martin is available Monday through Friday 7am-3:00pm.

He can be reached at:

• School office phone 608-868-9375
• MPD office phone 608-868-6910

Citizen's Police Academy

The Citizens Academy is an 8-week, interactive program that meets once a week, and provides citizens a “hands-on” experience in learning about what it is like to be a police officer. The course includes various courses of instruction in emergency vehicle operations, firearms training, defense and arrest tactics and allows citizens to be active learners and partners with police officers as they observe, learn and participate in the many various duties performed by officers of the Milton Police Department.

The Citizens Academy will begin on the final Thursday night in March, and will be held every Thursday evening from 6:30-9:00 p.m. until graduation night. Those who complete the academy will be rewarded with a greater sense of understanding of what law enforcement officers do, a certificate of course completion and a T-Shirt presented to them on graduation night.

Click here to read the Milton Police Department Press Release.
Click here for the Citizen's Academy Application.
Click here for the mandatory Citizen's Academy Liability Waiver.

Winter Parking Regulations

Parking During And After Snow Storms

City Ordinance 70-155 Traffic Code

No person shall park or leave standing any vehicle on any street or municipal parking lot in the City of Milton after a snowfall of 1 ½ inches in depth until after the snow from such street or parking lot has been removed, or plowed to the curb line.Vehicle Registration Services.

Click Here for the Winter Parking Regulations Code and Zoning Fact Sheet to learn more on this topic.

Vehicle Registration Renewals

On February 21, 2007 the Milton Police Department announced their appointment as an electronic agent of the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles. This appointment allows the PoliceDepartment to process registration renewal transactions that are available at the DMV offices. With this being offered, community members no longer have to travel to remote DMV offices or rely on mail for vehicle registration purposes.Customers will be charged a service fee that pays for the software as well as Department personnel, time, and funding of this program. The new electronic service is provided via a program supplied by Computerized Vehicle Registration (CVR). CVR is the major supplier of this service in Wisconsin, serving over six hundred auto dealers, credit unions, banks, and municipal agents throughout the state.

Fees charged are as follows:
Renewals- $10.00

The service fee will be added to the cost of the registration or renewal. We accept cash, check, or money orders. Make payable to the City of Milton.
For more information please contact the Police Department at 608-868-6910.

Amber Alert

The Milton Police Department has FREE Firearm Safety Kits available.

The mission statement of the Milton Police Department is to enhance the quality of life in the City of Milton by working cooperatively with the public to enforce law, preserve peace, reduce the fear of crime, and provide quality police services and promote a “partnership for a safer community” though police and citizen interaction, with emphasis on education, respect, fairness and integrity.

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