In 1973, Larry Powalisz joined the Milwaukee Police Department's police aide program, and, after a two year internship, was promoted to police officer, graduating from the City of Milwaukee Safety Academy in February 1976. During his tenure as a police officer, Larry patrolled one of Milwaukee's busiest districts. He was later selected to become a member of the departments Tactical Enforcement Unit the full-time special weapons and tactics unit. He also served on the departments Robbery Task Force.

In 1994, Larry was promoted to the rank of detective, where he investigated robberies, shootings, and other violent criminal offenses. He was also assigned to the Milwaukee Police Department's nationally recognized Gang Crimes Unit/Intelligence Division. In addition, Larry also served as a military special agent, where he recently completed 20 years of service in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Larry Powalisz currently holds the rank of master Chief.

Having labored in many of Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods, Larry witnessed young children fall prey to the easy money and violence associated with drug dealing. In some neighborhoods, law abiding residents were forced to deal with the nefarious influences of criminal street gangs. These gangs sought to recruit angry young men, many of whom came from less than ideal socio-economic backgrounds. Larry Powalisz witnessed the decline of the traditional family structure in many of Milwaukee's crime plagued neighborhoods, which contributed to a societal breakdown in central city areas.

Retired from the Milwaukee Police Department, Larry and his wife, Lynn, recently celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary. They currently reside in the San Francisco Bay area. Larry Powalisz is the author of The Island Treasure Hunt.

According to the book description, "in an effort to create a positive set of values for our nations next generation of impressionable young people, Larry put pen to paper and created this book, The Island Treasure Hunt, featuring two very likeable characters who find themselves faced with an ethical dilemma. The message conveyed by The Island Treasure Hunt is that good deeds do not go unnoticed. Its a positive message today's young people will hopefully realize."

About the Milwaukee Police Department
When Milwaukee became a village in 1834, it had a town marshal; when it became a city, it had a city marshal appointed by the person in power at the time. The marshal was not able to cope with the lawless element. Thieves, burglars and robbers were finding the rapidly growing Milwaukee a good, safe place to ply their illegal trades.

The county sheriff tried to keep the city crime down but did not have enough deputies to handle the crime wave. One of the deputy sheriffs in the year 1851 was Herman L. Page. He had some success catching a few robbers, and was elected sheriff in 1853. Page knew a farmer named William Beck living near Granville, and he also knew that Beck had been a detective on the New York police force. Page made Beck a deputy sheriff and told him to get busy catching thieves.

Beck caught a lot of them, and although his work eliminated many criminals, lawlessness continued, and citizens began demanding a police force. On September 3, 1855, Alderman Powers introduced an ordinance for the creation of a police force. The ordinance was printed in the official papers of the city the next day. The ordinance passed after some amending, and on October 4, 1855, the Milwaukee Police Department began functioning.

Today, the Milwaukee Police Department employees nearly 2000 sworn police officers and is organized, broadly, into three bureaus: Administration; Patrol and Criminal Investigations.

Source:
city.milwaukee.gov