MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Police presented data to Common Council members on Thursday that painted several different pictures. On one hand, there are signs of improvement but the same data shows that a dangerous problem still exists.
"We're still seeing horrific crashes, we're still seeing horrific fatalities," said Celia Jackson, a member of Coalition for Safe Driving MKE. "On any occasion I'm out there are people trying to pass me up going 80 MPH, you know"?
Jackson is reacting to the new police data that offers insight into what's happening with enforcement on Milwaukee's streets.
The data shows a 7% dip in the number of citations issued citywide by Milwaukee Police in 2023. There were 30,661 citations issued by police citywide in 2023. That's fewer than the 33,148 recorded in 2022 and about 52% fewer than the 63.439 recorded in 2018.
At face value, that data shows fewer instances of people getting caught for things like speeding, failing to stop at 'STOP' signs, and driving in bike lanes.
Still, the data shows people appear to be cracking down on reckless driving, unreasonable and imprudent speeds, and failing to obey a traffic signal or officer. The number of each of those citations rose in 2023.
"That tells me that there is more concentration on reckless driving, per say, as a traffic offense," said Jackson.
At Milwaukee City Hall on Thursday, MPD said there could be good news here. Fewer speeding citations could anecdotally mean engineering is working and traffic calming measures being installed by the city's Department of Public Works (DPW) are working.
"The traffic engineering that you guys have in place right now, that the city engineers are implementing, is making a difference," said Capt. Bradley Schlei, who leads MPD's Traffic Safety Unity (TSU).
But, Jackson said more data and understanding of the data and the citywide improvements is needed to learn how effective these engineering tools can be.
"I think it's too early to tell if they're successful. I think they're having an impact on people's driving. I think we need a little bit more data and a little bit more time for people to get accustomed to them," said Jackson.
Some in the community, including Alderman Scott Spiker, have noted a drop in the number of officers assigned to MPD's Traffic Safety Unit as a potential cause of the overall decrease in citations citywide. At one time, MPD said the TSU had 20 officers but right now they only have 11. Still, the unit issued 70% of speeding tickets in 2023, an area where the number of citations decreased.
"It is TSU being down, yes. But, its also TSU being more targeted and focused on the intentional issues that our constituents face - and that's the reckless driving," said MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough.
And while Jackson doesn't want to minimize the work that's been done in Milwaukee, she said one thing that could continue to impact driving for the better is additional education mixed in with constant engineering and the apparent increased emphasis on reckless driving enforcement.
"I just don't really know if people understand these changes, why these changes are happening and how can those changes best serve them," said Jackson.
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