MILWAUKEE—Mayor Cavalier Johnson has named Adam Procell as the new director of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety (OCWS), the city department that leads violence prevention efforts.
The announcement was made at City Hall, where Mayor Johnson and Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski praised the department’s role in reducing crime and fostering public safety through community partnerships. They also praised Adam at a high level, describing him as a ‘remarkable individual’.
Procell, who served more than two decades in prison after a homicide conviction at age 15, opened his remarks by acknowledging his past.
“Three days after I turned 15 years old, I made the worst decision a human could make. And that decision cost Robert his life,” Procell said. “I would serve a quarter century in prison for that decision. And that time didn’t give me all the answers. And to be honest, there are no quick fixes. There are no cure all’s. And to be honest with you, I’m not going to tout any crime metrics that I’m going to hit because, at the end of the day, crime can’t be defined.”
Procell emphasized that he intends to lead with honesty and accountability
“So I want you to think of the worst thing that you’ve ever done, and then I want you to think of coming up here and telling the entire city the worst moment you were as a human being. And I promise you, this is not comfortable. But I do that. I lead with that. Because I can’t ask Milwaukee to lean into uncomfortably if I don’t take that first step.”
He also outlined his priorities: supporting law enforcement, uplifting community “credible messengers” who work on the front lines of violence prevention, and building nonpartisan solutions.
“Safety isn’t partisan. And the person that’s about to get shot, they don’t care if I’m on the right or the left. All they care about is will you unturn every single stone to make sure that you’re working with everybody to find solutions? Number two, I feel I can’t do this job unless we support the police department. We need to pay them better, we need to give them resources. We need to ensure that they are culturally competent,” Procell said. “Conversely, the credible messengers, those who have committed violence, are out there in the trenches at 2am risking their lives to keep every single one of you safe.”
Mayor Johnson said Procell’s lived experience, combined with his work in reentry and violence prevention, make him uniquely qualified to lead the department.
The Office of Community Wellness and Safety was created in 2022 as part of Milwaukee’s public health approach to addressing crime and violence.
