MILWAUKEE — Serious crime in Milwaukee is down a combined 15 percent in 2022 compared to 2021.
Theft, robbery, aggravated battery, and rape were among the crime categories that decreased.
But, arson, carjackings, and fatal car crashes were up from 2021.
One category broke a record. Milwaukee saw 214 homicides in 2022, which is an 11 percent increase from 2021.
“I’m not here to celebrate,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a news conference Thursday. “There’s no room on the sidelines, folks. Everyone needs to be part of the solution, and everyone can contribute. That means teachers, preachers, friends, parents, and neighbors.”
Janice Gorden is someone who has long taken that message to heart.
The great-grandmother created the group “Victims of Milwaukee Violence” and has earned a reputation for connecting anyone who’s struggling to financial and emotional help. She maps out mental health services, housing aid, support groups, funeral planning, and more.
“I saw a need and had a calling from God to provide informational resources to families who are affected by crime and violence in Milwaukee,” Gorden said. “Over the years, I have built such a network of resources. If I don’t have the information in my office, it’s probably stored in my head, and if it’s not in my head, 99 percent of the time I can find something that helps the families out.”
We met with Gorden on one of her rare days off. But she still answers every call. That’s because she knows how important it is to be someone who's available for others. Just two days ago, she got a call from a young man she knows who was frustrated and in a heated argument with his girlfriend.
“Thank God he called,” Gorden said. “I was able to talk him down and convinced him to walk away from the conflict. It’s nice that I’ve been able to build this kind of rapport with people. It’s mainly through word of mouth over the years. I’ve worked with so many different people.”
Gorden’s work became more personal when her grandson was shot four times near 49th and Hampton. He survived.
It prompted her to get trained in grief counseling and take classes to learn how to write grants in order to expand her organization’s reach.
“There’s lots of money streaming into the communities for this type of work and everybody seems to work separately, and I think that’s a huge problem,” Gorden said.
She says the past year was her busiest ever in terms of people seeking her out after being directly affected by crime and violence.
“I remember one month I had 40 people that I was working with all at one time,” Gorden said. “Different families and different people that needed something.”
She listens whenever city leaders provide the latest crime numbers and commends every effort to improve those numbers. But she believes the real solution starts young, and at home.
“We have to be more diligent teaching our children what is right and what is wrong,” Gorden said. “I know parents have a lot on their plates trying to provide for their families. But we cannot leave the children to raise themselves. Adults must be good examples and instill values in our little ones before they’re even old enough to go to school. We need to teach and engage with our young people.”
