MILWAUKEE — Crime rates have surged in large cities across the country, including here in Milwaukee, but are the suburbs seeing similar increases?
TMJ4 News received crime data from eight suburban police departments in Milwaukee County. Altogether, it shows shootings have decreased in those communities throughout the pandemic, but police pursuits and car thefts are becoming far more common.
Leon Schwartz says his Kia SUV was swiped about a month ago in the middle of the night from his driveway in Wauwatosa.
"I still had the keys for the vehicle and there was no glass on the ground, so somehow they broke into it and took the vehicle,” he said. “The officer came and said your car is either being dismantled or is already crashed."
To this day, Schwartz says it has yet to be found.
"The biggest frustration is the personal items in the vehicle. I had close to $1,000 worth of personal property in the at the time."
Milwaukee has seen a massive uptick in stolen vehicles over the past two years, with more than 2,800 taken this year alone according to police. A deep dive into the data from these eight suburbs shows a similar trend on a smaller scale.
Altogether, 207 cars have been reported stolen so far this year across Glendale, Greendale, Oak Creek, South Milwaukee, St. Francis, Wauwatosa, West Allis and Whitefish Bay, compared to just 85 in the same time frame two years ago.
"The issues you're seeing crime-wise are spillover crime,” said Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy. “If you come into a Glendale municipal court, almost nobody's from Glendale."
With Bayshore being a major shopping hub, Mayor Kennedy says property crimes like theft are leading to more police chases, including one that resulted in a rollover crash two weeks ago.
Glendale police data shows its officers have chased 43 fleeing drivers this year, up from just 15 during the same months of 2020.
"The policy around pursuit has been pretty consistent. If you can catch the person without harming anyone else, and there's an opportunity to do that, then it's warranted,” Mayor Kennedy said.
Police pursuits across the eight suburbs nearly doubled compared to two years ago, but suburban police data shows one major positive: shootings are down.
Six people have been shot in the eight cities that are home to more than 215,000. Mayor Kennedy says violent crime is down across the board in Glendale with zero shootings to date this year.
"I think it's just the difference between a suburban community versus an urban community that has a lot of economic struggles,” he said. “We're not seeing the same sorts of things here."
Mayor Kennedy says more funding, jobs and resources are needed in Milwaukee’s inner city to address the financial inequalities that he believes are leading to spikes in crime.
Here is a breakdown of the data we received from suburban police departments:
GLENDALE: January — April 17
Shootings:
2022: 0
2021: 4
2020: 9
Police Pursuits:
2022: 43
2021: 37
2020: 15
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 36
2021: 24
2020: 13
GREENDALE: January — April 22
Shootings:
2022: 0
2021: 1 (Year total: 2)
2020: 0 (Year total: 0)
Police Pursuits:
2022: 2
2021: 4 (Year total: 15)
2020: 0 (Year total: 8)
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 5
2021: 1 (Year total: 11)
2020: 0 (Year total: 4)
OAK CREEK: January — April 26
Shootings:
2022: 0
2021: 1
2020: 1
Police Pursuits:
2022: 4
2021: 8
2020: 6
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 9
2021: 12
2020: 13
SOUTH MILWAUKEE: January — April
Shootings:
2022: 0
2021: 0
2020: 0
Police Pursuits:
2022: 1
2021: 1
2020: 1
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 7
2021: 3
2020: 3
ST. FRANCIS: January — April
Shootings:
2022: 1
2021: 0
2020: 1
Police Pursuits:
2022: 3
2021: 5 (24 total)
2020: 3 (15 total)
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 11
2021: 1 (24 total)
2020: 2 (10 total)
WAUWATOSA: January — April
Shootings:
2022: 5
2021: 4
2020: 2
Police Pursuits:
2022: 35
2021: 22
2020: 20
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 53
2021: 60
2020: 15
WEST ALLIS: January — April 25
Shootings:
2022: 0
2021: 1
2020: 0
Police Pursuits:
2022: 39
2021: 25
2020: 23
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 80
2021: 64
2020: 34
WHITEFISH BAY: January — April
Shootings:
2022: 0
2021: 0
2020: 0
Police Pursuits:
2022: 6
2021: 5
2020: 2
Vehicle Thefts:
2022: 6
2021: 3
2020: 5
