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<\/p>\n\n\n\nCrime, Coronavirus and Law Enforcement in Milwaukee <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s fair to assume that due to the pandemic and people being forced to stay in their homes, this would somewhat decrease the overall crime rate, but in reality, the trend has been the exact opposite. There has been an increase in homicides, civil unrest and drug related crime since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunately a perfect storm,\u201d said Terri deRoon-Cassini, a trauma and health psychologist at Froedtert Hospital. \u201cI think one of the biggest challenges we are faced with right now is the overlay of these two epidemics. They’re feeding each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the biggest factors in the consistent increase of drug related crime is fentanyl. The drug problem in Milwaukee continues to be a massive issue, and has slid somewhat under the radar due to the protests, pandemic and homicides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pandemic has made the issue worse because it\u2019s increased social isolation, caused people to lose their jobs, which causes added stress,\u201d said Reporter Edgar Mendez from Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. \u201cStress and isolation, those are triggers for drug use so people that maybe they were trying to quit went back to drug use and then people already using drugs, it accelerated their drug use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlthough people might be staying home, they\u2019re still going out and getting their drugs,\u201d said Luke Warnke, Forensic Investigator at Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fentanyl is a lot cheaper than heroin and when compounded with other substances it\u2019s actually not classified as a schedule one or two drug in court. Most of the deaths they\u2019ve seen haven\u2019t come from fentanyl by itself, but loads of them have been some sort of compound with fentanyl in it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you change a compound in fentanyl, the drug isn\u2019t classified as a schedule one or two drug. If you\u2019re a producer of this and mix in different compounds and get taken to court, there\u2019s some leverage in the fact that it\u2019s not fentanyl by itself. An attorney will argue that this drug isn\u2019t listed in the schedule, and they\u2019re going to be right,\u201d said Warnke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s in the process of being classified as a schedule one or two drug regardless of the compounds it\u2019s mixed with, but for now this continues to be a problem with no sign of the rates slowing down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur caseload has continued to go up. Last year was a record homicide year and drug related deaths for Milwaukee County, and the numbers are on pace again this year\u201d said Warnke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Domestic violence and homicide rates are also at an all time high since the pandemic began, and both continue to rise at alarming rates. Throughout the city of Milwaukee, these patterns and trends remain steady, and Black men continue to be disproportionately victimized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January, February and March of 2020, Milwaukee averaged about 11 homicides and 46 nonfatal shootings per month, according to data from the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission. That compares to nine homicides and about 49 nonfatal shootings monthly so far in 2021, according to data from the Milwaukee Police Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past two years, the average homicide rate has gone up more than three per month since 2016-2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When looking at why these homicides are occurring, roughly 23% of all homicides in Milwaukee have been related to intimate partner-related or domestic violence since the pandemic began. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople haven\u2019t been able to leave their homes, which is putting many on edge,\u201d said Warnke. \u201cThese are toxic environments where many aren\u2019t afraid to use their firearms, and when you put those things together, you see why there have been more and more disputes on a day to day basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all been encouraged or instructed to be at home as much as possible, and for many, that\u2019s not a safer place,\u201d said Milwaukee County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe hardest-hit areas of the city for both homicides and nonfatal shootings remain highly disadvantaged ones,\u201d said Constance Kostelac, director of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In many of these disadvantaged areas, there is a surplus of illegally obtained firearms, which is another issue prevalent in Milwaukee. Many detectives have noted that there has been a rise in disputes that escalate due to people\u2019s willingness to use them without remorse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, officers seized more than 2,600 firearms so far this year, up 23% compared with the same time last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs more people go armed, the chance for petty disputes to end in lethal violence rises,\u201d said Milwaukee Police Capt. Thomas Casper, who leads the homicide division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Law enforcement has also been impacted by quarantine restrictions, forcing police to respond to fewer incidents and less cases being cleared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pandemic forced violence prevention programs and other social service agencies to retool their approach. Many switched to virtual formats or paused services,\u201d said Lovern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Activists like Tory Lowe, who helps homicide victims\u2019 families raise money for funerals and push for justice, have also had to slow their line of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow that COVID-19 is out here, a lot of these people are not in the streets that would normally be out here, like myself,\u201d Lowe said. He added that he\u2019s only provided assistance in about 20 cases this year, where typically he\u2019d be up to 60 to 70 by now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, \u201cMilwaukee has had a historically low homicide clearance rate since the pandemic, currently at 54 percent instead of its usual 75 percent or higher range in recent years. Fewer cases being solved can lead to more violence.\u201d
The Journal Sentinel is tracking homicides and the rate at which charges are filed in Milwaukee to memorialize the victims and better understand deadly violence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spent six months gathering and analyzing data from police, prosecutors and the court system, tracking homicides in Milwaukee from the time they occurred through the court process. The analysis focused on 594 homicides that occurred from 2014 to 2018. Here\u2019s what it found: <\/p>\n\n\n\n This massive downward trend to cases not being cleared compared to 2014-2018, can be attributed to the limitations caused by the impact of the ongoing pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith COVID, the justice system isn\u2019t hitting on all cylinders,\u201d Casper said. \u201cThat revolving door is just spinning, putting these people right back onto the street.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is all happening at a time when multiple forces \u2014 all inter-related \u2014are destroying any semblance of normalcy: the coronavirus pandemic; the economic downturn; the heightened levels of racial tension, particularly involving police; and several bouts of civil unrest,\u201d Sophie Carson of the Journal Sentinel reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If someone that gets away with a murder, that damages the trust between a community and the police department. It\u2019s essentially a cycle that is feeding itself; the trust the community has in law enforcement continues to decline, which leads to more witnesses holding back and allows for more crime to occur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you add this all of this on top of the recent protests on the back of Geogre\u2019s Floyd\u2019s death, it\u2019s left the community with having little to no faith in Milwaukee\u2019s law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While many officers agree with the Black Lives Matter movement, and sympathize with everything in relation to it, they\u2019re often caught in this grey area between it all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur way of life is built off of what\u2019s reasonable, and that\u2019s how I operate in those grey areas of the law, which is how it should be,\u201d said an officer identified as J.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since these protests started and have continued to take place, many officers have noticed a change in the public\u2019s attitudes towards them, and some may argue rightfully so. There\u2019s a growing notion of an \u201canti-police rhetoric\u201d that is very prevalent in Milwaukee County. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of one\u2019s opinion on either side is beside the point. Numerous officers that agree with what the protests and movements represent, a lot of people are going about it wrongly; which takes the focus away from what the movements should be about, and affects an officer\u2019s ability to perform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a rise in people getting extremely comfortable with trying to catch officers that are acting out of line electronically. There are countless examples of videos and clips being taken out of context purposefully, which is a recurring theme in this day and age regardless of the scenario. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People are made aware of every single thing that happens nowadays due to social media. If there is an incident that may arise or escalate, it\u2019s the norm for one to whip out their phone and record it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve noticed in the past year that there\u2019s been a huge climb in individuals shoving phones in my face, which doesn’t bother me because I\u2019m recorded all the time regardless. What bothers me is people trying to antagonize us simply for doing our job. We\u2019re humans too and we all have boiling points, and nowadays, more and more people are trying to normalize arguing and attempting to antagonize officers, which is counterproductive for everyone and gets us all nowhere,\u201d said Officer J.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should there be a line that gets drawn? It is one\u2019s right to do what they please with electronics, but if there isn\u2019t a line that gets drawn, how far will this continue to go, and what will it lead to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Times are changing and due to this changing rhetoric, many that work in law enforcement have been choosing to keep their identities hidden, regardless of the topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt goes to show you that we fear attaching our names to statements because we don\u2019t know how it will be interpreted; even if it\u2019s something we shouldn\u2019t be scared to say,\u201d said another officer who wishes to remain anonymous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People in law enforcement are held to a higher standard (rightfully so), but the question many are asking is, where (or what) is the professional standard for the average citizen? <\/p>\n\n\n\n When law enforcement has to deal with the exterior distractions of people going out of their way to try and antagonize them, it impacts their ability to do their job. They\u2019re limited on time and cases they can respond to, so when you have people going out of their way to essentially troll them, it\u2019s understandable why officers deem that counterproductive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not something that can be measured by statistics, but it\u2019s a fair question to ask\u2013\u2013Is this new trend playing a factor and impacting Milwaukee\u2019s crime rate? <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the flip side, there are people who truly feel that police aren\u2019t being held accountable and seek more justice and accountability from the task force to simply be better at their job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a common skepticism of legal cynicism taking place within Milwaukee\u2019s law enforcement and a belief that law enforcement uses the pandemic as a \u201ccop-out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many attribute the rise in unsolved homicides cases and the steady increase in Milwaukee\u2019s crime rates to this, and don\u2019t accept \u201cthe pandemic\u201d as a valid excuse or reason. Black citizens continue to be academically, financially and systematically oppressed, and the protests and civil unrest goes deeper than most realize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Psychologist Josh, a Milwaukee resident who actively participated in many of these protests said, \u201cWe are people that are a reaction of our own past experiences, and those who came before us. Frustration, desperation, you name it, we\u2019ve felt and experienced it to the highest degree. We just want them (law enforcement) to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of a plan moving forward to help combat crime rates and rebuilding the relationship between the community and law enforcement, it\u2019s at a bit of a stalemate at this point in time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur department is distracted with politics, inquiries, demonstrations, everything you can imagine except serving the neighborhoods we come to work to serve,\u201d Inspector Terrance Gordon said. \u201cI grew up during the crack wars in Milwaukee, but there is a wildness out there that I have not experienced in my city before. I really think that if the city got back to doing what we\u2019re elected and appointed to do, we could get a handle on this. I don\u2019t think we need a new strategy. I just think we need time to do our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Crime, Coronavirus and Law Enforcement in Milwaukee It\u2019s fair to assume that due to the pandemic and people being forced to stay in their homes, this would somewhat decrease the overall crime rate, but in reality, the trend has been the exact opposite. There has been an increase in homicides, civil unrest and drug related … Continue reading Crime, Coronavirus and Law enforcement in milwaukee<\/span>
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