MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee crime metrics reflecting three-quarters of the year from 2021 to 2023 show that violent crimes are down from the last two years despite the number of human trafficking cases more than doubling since 2021.
All data reflected in this article comes directly from a Third Quarter Review published by the Milwaukee Police Department. Authorities gathered overall crime statistics, specifically from January through September 2021, 2022 and 2023. Their metrics show that Milwaukee’s crime rate is down 23% overall in the last two years and 12% year-over-year in that timeframe.
The largest decreases from 2021 to 2023 came in auto theft (7,953 through three quarters of 2021 vs. 4,531 through three quarters of 2023) and general theft, which is down 20% in that timeframe.
However, two specific categories of Milwaukee crime have increased significantly in the last two years. Carjackings are up 36% from 2021 to 2023 (253 total in ’21 vs. 343 so far in ’23). Human trafficking is also up a jarring 108% — though it must be noted the sample size is small (12 cases in 2021 vs. 25 cases so far in 2023), which inflates percentages and represents an increase of 13 cases.
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Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman says that human trafficking is a historically underreported crime, and while increased case total could be shocking, it’s also a step toward stopping those crimes when they’re brought to light. He also believes the increase in carjackings can be attributed to a younger demographic of criminals making ‘brash’ and ‘reckless’ decisions to execute crimes.
Several more types of crime increased through three-quarters of 2022 vs. 2023, including Burglary (7%), Non-Fatal Shootings (4%), Robbery (3%) and Rape (2%). Still, the total number of crimes reported through September of the last three years has decreased annually (25,751 total crimes in 2021, 22,456 crimes in 2022 & 19,783 crimes in 2023).
Despite certain drawbacks, the Milwaukee Police Department proudly reports that overall homicides decreased 23% from last year to this year (168 last year vs. 130 this year).
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