Posted on 12/01/2006 7:36:15 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Robbery, assault wave is among worst in U.S.
New York - Milwaukee is among the leaders in a spike in violent crime being reported this year in numerous cities across the country, according to figures presented at a conference here this week.
In the first six months of 2006, robberies were up 36% and aggravated assaults were up 31.6% compared with the same period in 2005, according to a survey published by the Police Executive Research Forum. Of the 55 U.S. police departments in the survey, only Minneapolis had a higher combined increase in those categories.
Certain cities, especially the largest, have not had a similar rise in violence, prompting some experts to caution that more data is needed before concluding that the nation as a whole is seeing a new wave of crime.
Others, however, are convinced that crime is on an upward trend.
"I think there is something important going on out there," David Kennedy, director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which hosted the conference, said Thursday. "My bones tell me that something is changing."
Several police chiefs have concluded that the jump in violent crime is not a blip but the start of a troubling trend that must be tackled, said Dean Esserman, chief in Providence, R.I.
Violent crime nationally in 2005 showed the largest single-year increase in 14 years, and many cities report that the trend is continuing this year.
Esserman noted that chiefs and mayors from 50 cities attended a conference in August, and most reported violent crime is on the rise. At the time, Los Angeles Chief William Bratton called it a "gathering storm," though it has not hit his city yet.
"The reality is overwhelming," said Esserman, of the Police Executive Research Forum, which hosted that August conference. "Everyone told the same story with desperation and anger."
In Milwaukee, police reported a leap in violent crime in 2005 compared with the previous year. Officials acknowledge an increase but cautioned that their 2004 figures might have been faulty because of computer problems. But whatever the increase in 2005, the key categories of robbery and aggravated assault are up significantly this year.
Homicides down, shootings up
So far, homicides in Milwaukee are down - almost 16% compared with this time last year, with 97 killings to date and 115 at this time in 2005. But officials say non-fatal shootings are rising. Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa expects to treat 34% more gunshot victims this year than last, and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is up 38%.
Experts say that the total number of shootings - not just the fatal ones - is a better measurement of gun violence.
The Journal Sentinel reported last month that about 600 people a year are struck by gunfire in Milwaukee and survive. Shootings cost taxpayers, hospitals and people with insurance tens of millions of dollars a year, the newspaper found. They also consume police officers' time, leading to slow response for less urgent calls. For months, residents have complained about response times not only for low-level calls but also for more serious crimes.
Police Chief Nannette Hegerty has formed a group in her department to study police responses and consider changes, as it struggles with the surge in violence. One option being considered is whether to continue sending officers to certain lower-priority calls, perhaps handling the calls over the phone or by computer.
Hegerty and other chiefs report seeing more shootings and homicides resulting from arguments that earlier might have been settled with fights. They also are reporting more robberies, with the victims sometimes getting shot even after giving up cash.
Boston less of a 'miracle'
Milwaukee and many other cities have looked to Boston to see why homicides there dropped from 152 in the early 1990s to 31 a decade later. The so-called Boston Miracle formed a coalition of ministers, social workers and others to reach at-risk youth, but with success, the plan drifted.
Last year, there were 75 homicides in Boston, a 10-year high, and about 300 non-fatal shootings. This year, there have been 69 killings so far, and non-fatal shootings were up 80% in the first half of the year, said Larry Mayes, chief of human services in Boston. That shooting pace has slowed in the second half of the year, as the city returned to the plan.
Boston is making up for a shortage of police officers, but Mayes said crime suppression isn't the ultimate answer. "You really need to drill down to the root of the problem," he said.
Looking for reasons behind the current jump in crime, experts say it's helpful to look at the last jump in crime, between the mid-1980s and early 1990s.
Crack cocaine was blamed for that spasm of violence across the country, including in Milwaukee; it was fueled by the availability of handguns, with many more young males, who were particularly reckless, perpetrating crimes. Milwaukee had 168 homicides in 1991.
'Where is the moral outrage?'
The drop that began in 1993 is attributed to several factors, including police crackdowns on illegal guns, a drop in demand for crack, a strong economy and perhaps high incarceration rates, said Alfred Blumstein, a criminal justice professor at Carnegie Mellon University. But Blumstein said incarceration increased in the 1970s before the explosion of violent crime, challenging the notion that lockup rates reduce crime.
Experts suggest that possible factors behind the recent increase include easier access to guns, a slow economy, parole of prisoners and less federal money for social services and officers as resources go to homeland defense.
Esserman and other chiefs fault the U.S. Justice Department for forgetting crime as it focuses on terrorism. After the meeting in August, federal officials promised to study the issue, which Esserman called absurd. He said action is needed.
Esserman said another ingredient is getting everyone to care about the violence. He said that too often, the public gives a collective shrug over rampant violence because it affects poor people, usually in the African-American community.
"It has become tolerated. It has become acceptable," he said of the roughly 16,000 homicides every year. "Where is the moral outrage?"
On the Web:
"A Gathering Storm - Violent Crime in America," a report published by the Police Executive Research Forum, is at http://www.policeforum.org.
"You really need to drill down to the root of the problem," he said.
1. No fathers in the homes. Lots of illegitimate kids running around in this are of our state.
2. No jobs. High poverty rate.
3. Influx of illegals and gang bangers bringing even more violence and drug activity to Milwaukee. (Gang bangers have been shooting up my little Cow Town of 6,000!)
4. Releasing parolees early and right back into the mix.
Just for starters...
"Governor Doyle Please Pick Up The White Courtesy Phone in the Lobby" Ping!
So...he ignored this during his past term. Who wants to bet it'll be ignored for his upcoming term, too?
You left out that WI doesn't allow citizens to defend themselves effectively outside of their homes. No deterent for criminals. Carjacking is safe in WI.
Great minds! I was just coming back to past that FACT, too. :)
5. Unarmed citizenry makes for easy pickings for criminals.
".... fault the U.S. Justice Department ..."
Oh right, it's someone else's problem, not a state or city problem. If the bad stuff is happening in your city, it's your problem to solve.
This sounds so much like Mayor Nagin complaining that FEMA did not send schoolbusses to evacuate NOLA.
You forgot:
(5) No shall-issue concealed carry law, so crooks know their victims are (most likely) defenseless. See http://www.packing.org/state/wisconsin/#statenote
The gang unit was eliminated & I don't think it has been brought back! Arty Jones was a terrible Police Chief & did some very nutty & destructive things to the force.
Heightened mistrust between the police force & the community, with things like the racial aspects to the Jude case getting a lot of play.
About three quarters of kids in the city drop out of high school before graduation.
Many of the community "leaders" are crooks, lining their pockets with funds intended to help "the less fortunate". The oversight is poor & when the crooks get caught, no one is held accountable by the voters.
Well, in a way this could be good news. I once flew home to Atlanta with a fellow passenger who was an army trauma surgeon. He said who was coming to Atlanta to get specialized training in ballistic wound care/treatment. Apparently in peacetime they weren't seeing enough of them and would come to Grady Memorial Hospital to bone up, as it were. With Froedert picking up the pace - the cost of flying such trauma trainees may decline. It offers real Midwestern convenience.
Tom Barrett continuing Milwaukeestan's proud socialist legacy.
"...with things like the racial aspects to the Jude case getting a lot of play."
That case is the biggest cluster to come down the pike in a very long time. He's like a quarter "black" so of course it's "racial." *Rolleyes*
Zoykes! Be careful what you wish upon our state! ;)
I'm still stunned that we actually had a 32-shell casing 'shoot out' in my Cow Town last summer!
Tancredo now claims Milwaukee is also like a "Third World Country".
Tancredo now claims Milwaukee is also like a "Third World Country".
I thank my Dad often for moving us out of that Hell Hole all the way back in 1970. I was born there, but escaped at age 10. ;)
I only have one crazy relative still living there. She's within blocks of a free-fire zone because she's one of those 'Crazy Cat Ladies' who will not leave her coven of feral cats. *Rolleyes*
The rest of us have moved on.
When everything is about blaming whitey, gotta make the definition of the victim class as expansive as possible, doncha know.
Tancredo said that about Miami. I didn't hear that he'd said anything about Milwaukee. Sensenbrenner said, "Milwaukee is rapidly becoming the murder capital of the U.S." & took some heat for it. Could that be what you were talking about or did I miss something?
I wish I were a 'special' and 'protected' class. I can't imagine anything better than being a monkey in the zoo who is fed and watered three times a day by Mother Government. Doesn't it ever occur to the Special Interest folk that this is all they're doing? (Rhetorical)
Self respect is something seriously lacking in our moral fiber these days.
"Remember when it was the beer that made Milwaukee famous?"
Most of my uncles used to work for Miller, and my Dad & both Grandpas worked at Allis Chalmers and Harneschfiger. I'm just saddened to the core that a once vibrant city founded by hard-working people is now such a hell-hole. That's socialism for ya! Destroys businesses, people, communities...anything it touches. :(
I prefer our northern beers; Leinenkugel & Point. And I can freely drink them now because the uncles have all passed on, LOL!
We used to live in Fox Lake, IL and crossed the border to Waukeegan, and sometimes to Milwaukee. Some good memroies, it is sad to see how far the area has fallen.
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