MILWAUKEE — For roughly a month, Milwaukee resident have woken up to find glass littered across their parking lots and sidewalks as the city endures a sharp increase in automobile break-ins. In front of City Hall on Friday afternoon, members of Milwaukee’s local government and law enforcement community laid out their response.
Milwaukee Police Inspector David Feldmeier said they have been dispatching officers to areas where there have been more reports of break-ins:
“We had a 31% increase in entries to autos from last year to this year in a 30-day comparison. We have not had any arrests. We have followed up on several leads, and we should be making some progress shortly.”
Despite no arrests being made, Mayor Cavalier Johnson emphasized that Milwaukee Police are still doing valuable work:
“Just because there have been no arrests made to date doesn’t mean that there won’t be arrests made,” Mayor Johnson said. “Just because you haven’t had success immediately, doesn’t mean you stop…
“Those folks are still out there and they are still trying to cause mayhem in the city. So I want the Police to continue on in their efforts. I want the police to continue to patrol, just like I want the public to do their part too.”
Mayor Johnson continuously hit on a theme of accountability across the Milwaukee community. Specifically, the responsibility gun owners have in doing their part.
“Please… do not leave your gun in your car,” Mayor Johnson said. “Thieves are often looking for weapons to steal and then perpetrate crimes in other parts of the city.”
Inspector Feldmeir stated that the description of the perpetrators of the crimes is typically males in their teen years. To curb that trend, Mayor Johnson advocated for parents to be involved in the lives of their children and keep them from being involved in crime.
The Milwaukee Police Department’s tips on how to keep your car safe can be found here.
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