HELPER+ Program

Photo illustration of blurred United States flag with police lights and first responder profiles.

Learn from local, state, and federal practitioners about the interpersonal and service-oriented nature of professions within the criminal justice system. Earn course credit for learning from and networking with local, state and federal criminal justice professionals.

In the Higher Education Law Enforcement/Police Education and Recruitment+ Program, students build their knowledge base from a variety of sources:

  • Online lectures delve into the evidence-based understanding of law enforcement and policing in the United States.
  • In-class presentations provide a practitioner’s point of view from criminal justice professionals working at the local, state and federal levels.

Both perspectives emphasize the interpersonal and service-oriented nature of law enforcement/policing within the larger context of constitutional and evidence-based approaches to crime control.

The Higher Education Law Enforcement/Police Education and Recruitment+ Program is offered both as a class and optional program.

Who Can Attend?

UWM Students

UWM students may attend any session(s), or enroll in Criminal Justice 592 (undergraduate students) or Criminal Justice 970-002 (graduate students) to receive course credits.

Undergraduate Course Graduate Course

High School Students and Community Members

We welcome high school students and individuals from the community to attend any session(s) that interest them! Just let us know that you’ll be attending by filling out a registration form.

Register

This course includes weekly presentations from experts in local, state and federal agencies, including:

  • Advocate Aurora Health Public Safety
  • High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program
  • Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Services
  • Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
  • Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission
  • Milwaukee Police Department
  • Oak Creek Police Department
  • Shorewood Police Department
  • United States Drug Enforcement Administration
  • University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Police Department
  • Wauwatosa Police Department
  • Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office

2026 Schedule

HELPER+ program sessions are held on Tuesday nights during the Fall 2026 semester in Enderis Hall Room 103 (lecture hall).

Introduction

  • Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: The Interpersonal and Service-Oriented Nature of Law Enforcement and Policing
    • Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) Chief Norman

Session 1

  • Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Multi-Agency Approach to Drug Investigations
    • North Central High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Investigative Support Center Manager Rutter

Session 2

  • Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Women in Law Enforcement/Policing
    • Advocate Aurora Health, Director of Public Safety Waldner (MPD Asst. Chief, ret.); Shorewood Police Department Chief Wurth

Session 3

  • Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026
  • 5:30-6:45 p.m. and 7-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Procedurally Just Police-Citizen Interactions
    • MPD Captain Leitzke; Wauwatosa Police Department (WPD) Chief MacGillis

Session 4

  • Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Exploiting Digital Evidence in Criminal Investigations
    • Wauwatosa Police Department, Detective Martin Keck

Session 5

  • Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Officer Wellbeing – Physical, Emotional, and Mental Fitness and Health
    • Oak Creek Police Department Chief Stecker

Session 6

  • Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Crisis Intervention and Interactions with People with Emotional Disturbances and Mental Illness
    • Milwaukee Police Department’s Crisis Assessment Response Team (CART) Officers and Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Services CART Clinicians

Session 7

  • Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026
  • 5:30-6:45 p.m. and 7-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Strategic and Tactical Crime Analysis
    • MPD Crime and Intelligence Manager Hafemeister and MPD Crime Analyst Christensen

Session 8

  • Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Trauma-Informed Investigation of Sensitive Crimes
    • Oak Creek Police Department Detective and FBI Task Force Officer Schneider (ret.)

Session 9

  • Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Prosecuting Criminal Cases
    • Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern

Session 10

  • Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Defending the Accused
    • Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office, Regional Attorney Manager Johnson

Fall Break

  • Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2026

Session 11

  • Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026
  • 5:30-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Interagency Task Force Operations and Intelligence Analysis
    • U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Milwaukee District Office, Assistant Special Agent in Charge McGarry

Session 12

  • Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2026
  • 5:30-7 p.m. and 7:15-8:15 p.m.
    • Helping Others: Recruitment Processes for Sworn and Non-sworn Careers
    • UWM Police Department Chief Switala; Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission

Schedule of Classes
Contact
Kimberly D. Hassell, PhD
Associate Professor
hassell@uwm.edu
HELPER+ Program
Tuesdays
Sept. 8 – Dec. 12, 2026
Enderis Hall Room 103 (lecture hall)