Milwaukee homicides decline more than 20% in 2023 after record highs in previous 3 years

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- After setting records for new homicides in each of the previous three years, Milwaukee experienced a substantial decline in homicides last year.

According to data compiled by the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, the city recorded 161 homicides in 2023; that's a decline of more than 20% from the record-high 215 the city saw in 2022.

There was an explosion of violence starting in 2020, a phenomenon similar to what other major U.S. cities experienced. After recording 99 homicides in both 2018 and 2019, there were 190 homicides in 2020 and then 194 in 2021.

In an interview with CBS 58, Mayor Cavalier Johnson credited improved communication between police, residents and community groups as a key factor in last year's decline.

"Some of those reasons are the partnerships that we've been able to build, really," Johnson said. "The police department and my relationship has been phenomenal. We've been building trust in neighborhoods, but I often tell folks it's not just policing of and by itself."

At the Neighborhood House on the city's near west side, Niki Espy said she was hopeful the decline was a sign their shifting approach to dealing with teens was bearing fruit.

Espy, the organization's associate program director, said Neighborhood House learned a valuable lesson during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the murder rates were skyrocketing, the organization was realizing it needed to slow down; that was made possible by the smaller groups necessitated by social distancing.

"Before, we were so busy moving so fast that I think we lost not hearing or listening to the youth," she said.

Espy said what the youth were saying was teens constantly face peer pressure in an age of social media -- and some were giving in to the glorification of crime and solving disputes with violence.

"[The teens were saying] we have more things coming at us that aren't always so positive that you may not have had access to, or have been thrown at you," Espy said. "Which is true."

Despite the decline in 2023, the number of both homicides and non-fatal shootings were still significantly higher than their pre-pandemic numbers.

After recording fewer than 500 non-fatal shootings in 2018 and 2019, Milwaukee experienced more than 800 last year. The 2023 total of 804 was a 7% decline from 2022. 

When asked how residents should measure the city's continued progress toward preventing violence, Johnson said he would be monitoring the Office of Community Wellness and Safety, which was rebranded from the Office of Violence Prevention. 

Specifically, Johnson said the agency needed to do a better job of actually spending the federal pandemic aid it received, distributed by both the state and the city.

"I think one of the metrics folks should be able to look at is the amount of money the office presently has and getting those out of the door," Johnson said. 

Johnson later said if he could force through one piece of legislation to the governor's desk, it'd be stricter gun laws. Specifically, Johnson said he supported universal background checks, red flag laws and harsher punishments both gun theft and failure to properly secure lawfully owned guns.

"Those folks who are coming in and bringing their guns, and they're not having them locked? They should face some sort of responsibility there, too," Johnson said.

You can learn more about Neighborhood House's family programs here and its teen programs here.