A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum says police in Milwaukee have arrested fewer people, especially those accused of low-level crimes.
The number of arrests, traffic stops and contacts with citizens by Milwaukee police have dropped dramatically over the past decade, according to the report, whose findings were released Tuesday.
More: How ‘horrible’ is crime in Milwaukee? A look at the half-year figures.
The report looked at how and why interactions between police and residents in Milwaukee have changed over the years.
The study found that Milwaukee police made 51,176 arrests in 2012, but only 9,061 in 2023 — a decrease of 82.3%. The declines occurred in the years before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said.
Approximately 82% of the overall decline in MPD arrests since 2012 was attributed to a decline in summons and citation arrests, which involve individuals who have simply been served with a notice to appear in court at a future date appear on misdemeanor cases. Most of them involved disorderly conduct, drug abuse and vandalism.
The number of such arrests fell by 95.7% from 36,055 in 2012 to 1,568 in 2023, the report said.
The number of so-called ‘on-view’ arrests, which are made based on what a police officer or resident experiences first-hand, has fallen by 64.6% since 2012.
The number of warrant arrests from a previously filed incident report, often referred to as “in-custody” arrests, fell 24% over the same period.
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“Police now come into contact with residents at significantly lower rates than before, and far fewer arrests are made – especially for lower-level crimes,” the policy forum said in a statement.
Researchers at the Policy Forum say several factors could play a role. Among them, the number of reported crimes has also fallen by almost 30% – from 64,116 in 2012 to 45,173 in 2023.
The report also compared Milwaukee to a group of 11 peer cities of similar size, including Seattle and Cleveland. It found that Milwaukee’s arrest rate decline since 2012 was the largest of any city in that group.
Overall arrests in most of these communities declined during that time. Researchers attributed the trend to a nationwide shift in police tactics following the killing of George Floyd and several other highly publicized incidents involving alleged excessive use of force by police.
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This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A new report claims fewer are being made in Milwaukee. This is why
