Crime dropping in Milwaukee: What's the latest in the trend?

Crime dropping in Milwaukee: What's the latest in the trend?Photo: iStock
Hoodline
Published on July 12, 2019

The number of crime incidents in Milwaukee saw an overall decrease last week, for the fourth week in a row, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects data from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents fell to 3,061 for the week of July 1, down from 3,599 the week before.

The specific offenses that decreased the most were shooting and theft. Shootings fell to 259 incidents last week, from 349 the week before. Theft went from 330 to 270. Reports of theft have continued to fall for the last three weeks.

While somewhat smaller categories, there was also a notable percentage decrease in vandalism, from 158 incidents per week to 108, and in burglary, from 169 to 143 incidents.

There were 686 reported assault incidents last week. That represents a decrease from 711 incidents the previous week. There were also 40 incidents of robbery, down from 43 the week before.

There were 1,555 reports of "other" crimes, a decrease of 284 from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, 74 involved arrests, such as for drug possession, down from 94 reported arrests the week before.

Considering the concentration of crime across the city, Old North Milwaukee, Historic Third Ward and Harambee continued to have the most reported incidents last week.

Crime in Franklin Heights decreased the most; incidents in the neighborhood have been falling for four weeks in a row. Crime reports in Park West also fell, after increasing the week before, and incidents in Silver Spring are down considerably as well.

Regarding day and time factors, Sunday, Saturday and Thursday had the most crime incidents last week. The largest decrease from the previous week occurred on Tuesday, Monday and Friday, while incidents on Sunday and Thursday went up. Comparing times of day, after midnight, evening and late afternoon saw the most crime last week.

Want a longer-term view of crime in Milwaukee? Here's our latest monthly crime report.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.