Homicides are down 20 percent in Milwaukee, but mayor wants to see more action on gun laws

Even as homicides are down 20 percent this year compared to last, Milwaukee’s mayor is pushing on state and federal lawmakers to strengthen gun laws to help address violence in the city.

In 2022, 215 people were murdered in the city, with homicide numbers hitting a record for the third year in a row. So far this year, it appears that trend is reversing. Year to date, 143 people have been killed, a 20 percent decline compared to the same time last year, and an 11 percent decline from the same time in 2021.

But nonfatal shootings have slightly increased in Milwaukee, according to crime statistics from the Milwaukee Police Department.

“Guns, and particularly guns in the hands of people who should not have them in the first place, they present real challenges to the overall safety here in our city,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said Tuesday.

Johnson said he’s spoken to state lawmakers recently about the issue, as he’s expressed concerns in the past that local officials can’t pass legislation themselves to strengthen gun laws.

“It’s too important to Milwaukee, it’s too important to the people who live here, it’s too important to kids in our community not to address this altogether,” Johnson said. “There has to be space, there has to be, where we’re (lawmakers) able to work together, even on the margins, to get something done here.”

A 2019 study found states with more relaxed gun control laws and higher rates of gun ownership have higher rates of mass shootings. Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence ranked Wisconsin as a D+ for its “gun law strength.”

Meanwhile, several mass shootings and high profile murders in Milwaukee in recent years have left local leaders grasping for answers and calling for change. But it’s unclear if any action will take place at the state level.

A spokesperson for State Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Milwaukee, said the lawmaker had some “initial conversations” with city officials about strengthening gun laws, and is currently “evaluating potential legislation.”

“He is overall supportive of efforts to ensure the public is protected from gun violence while criminals are punished,” the spokesperson said in an email.

A spokesperson for Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos didn’t respond to a reporter’s request for comment for this story.

Republicans introduced a bill in the Wisconsin State Assembly earlier this year that would impose a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for people with felony records convicted of possessing a firearm, but no action has been taken on it since March.

Other cities also seeing decreases

Milwaukee isn’t the only city where murder rates are falling — cities across the nation are seeing similar decreases. As of Sept. 30, homicides are down 12.2 percent in more than 90 cities across the nation this year compared to last, according to data from AH Datalytics. A July report from the Council on Criminal Justice Crime Trends found the number of homicides in 30 U.S. cities was also down 9.4 percent during the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022.

That decline is following a 30 percent increase in homicides between 2019 and 2020, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. But Milwaukee’s 95 percent increase during that time period dwarfs the national spike.

Law enforcement experts have pointed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing number of guns on the street as possible reasons for the increase.

When presenting third quarter crime statistics Tuesday, Milwaukee Police Jeffrey Norman said other serious crimes — including robbery, auto thefts and theft — are collectively down 12 percent this year compared to last.

Johnson also said he was encouraged by the declining numbers.

“We are not relaxing our efforts — our police department, they want to drive these numbers down,” he said.