Weekly Fiscal Facts are provided to Wisconsin Newspaper Association members by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s leading resource for nonpartisan state and local government research and civic education. The Wisconsin Policy Forum logo can be downloaded here.
The total number of Milwaukee Police Department arrests, traffic stops, and contacts with citizens dropped precipitously in recent years, raising questions about the impact of these trends on public safety and police-community relations.
The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) made 51,176 arrests in 2012, but just 9,061 in 2023 – a decline of 82.3%, with declines occurring in before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Milwaukee police contacts with citizens also saw a sharp decline: in 2023, MPD made 27,715 traffic stops, 81.5% fewer than it made in 2015; the department also conducted only 708 subject stops last year, a 98.5% decrease from 2015.
Relative to 11 peer cities, Milwaukee saw the largest arrest rate decrease since 2012. Milwaukee’s rate of 85.5 arrests per 1,000 residents in 2012 was the highest among peers. Its 2023 rate of 16.1 arrests per 1,000 residents was higher than only two cities: Seattle (10.8) and Cleveland (9.3).
MPD arrests fall into three categories. “Taken into Custody” arrests, which are made based on a warrant of a previously submitted incident report, and “On-View,” arrests, which are made on the basis of what an MPD officer or Milwaukee resident witnesses, result in an offender being taken into custody. “Summons and Citations” arrests involve individuals who are simply served notice to appear in court at a future date, and typically only are used for misdemeanor cases.
About 82% of the total decline in MPD arrests since 2012 can be explained by a drop in Summons and Citations arrests, which fell by 95.7% from 36,055 in 2012 to 1,568 in 2023. Crimes that saw a high concentration of these types of arrests include disorderly conduct, drug abuse and equipment, and destruction and vandalism.
A new Wisconsin Policy Forum report examines what factors may be contributing to these reductions, including that reported offenses also have fallen, many other cities also have seen large drops in arrests, and staffing challenges at MPD. High-priority calls for service to MPD have increased, diminishing its capacity to conduct proactive policing.
In addition, the Collins Settlement, reached in 2018 after MPD was sued over its stop-and-frisk practices, requires MPD to provide more concrete justifications and record data points “for each traffic stop, field interview, and no-action encounter” that takes place. This has almost certainly contributed to the accelerated reductions in both stops and arrests in recent years. Another possible contributor is changes in MPD leadership during this period.
The report also considers a few options for what policy or procedural changes – if any – the department may wish to consider in response to these trends. Ultimately, determining if the sharp downward trend in arrests and stops has made Milwaukee safer or more dangerous is a challenging, nuanced endeavor. Still, now may be the time for Milwaukee public safety stakeholders to work together to better understand what is happening, and why.
This information is provided to Wisconsin Newspaper Association members as a service of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s leading resource for nonpartisan state and local government research and civic education. Learn more at wispolicyforum.org.
