Aldermen disappointed Attorney General Schimel sent representative to discuss crime in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE -- The debate over how to reduce crime in Milwaukee got heated again on Monday, June 20th. On June 10th, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm was grilled by members of the Milwaukee Common Council's Public Safety Committee as part of a series of special meetings on crime in Milwaukee -- and on Monday, June 20th, it was Attorney General Brad Schimel's turn.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm appears before Public Safety Committee
On June 10th, Alderman Mark Borkowski suggested there has been a lack of effort by DA Chisholm:
"When was the last time you called out a judge for being soft?" Borkowski asked.
"My job isn`t to call people out, alderman," Chisholm said.
"Then your job is to let people, multiple offenders go back out," Borkowski said.
Alderman Mark Borkowski
Schimel on Monday sent a representative to this meeting on his behalf -- a move that didn't sit well with Borkowski.
"Am I mistaken or was the attorney general supposed to be here today? I find it disappointing that the elected official couldn`t be with us today, because like all of us, we`re held accountable or should be," Borkowski said.
Borkowski was upset because he had specific questions that went unanswered.
Connie Kostelac
Connie Kostelac with the Wisconsin Department of Justice appeared before the committee on Schimel's behalf.
"The city of Milwaukee accounts for over 50% of the violent crime in the entire state," Kostelac said.
Reported rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults were up 7% from 2014 to 2015. Vehicle thefts were up 11% during that same period, and homicides were up too.
"Up about 70% for 2014-2015, keeping in mind that 2014 was a low point for the number of homicides," Kostelac said.
Crime is up -- but arrests are down.
DOJ officials say the data shows that fewer people are being taken into custody.
"So over the same 10-year time period, you`ll see that the total number of violent crime arrests have dropped about 15% based on what`s reported by the MPD and about 3% over the last year," Kostelac said.
There has even been a dramatic decrease in arrests for property crimes, according to DOJ data.
"Property crime arrests are down about 33% over the 10-year period and 21% over last year," Kostelac said.
Why have there been fewer arrests? That was another question that wasn't answered Monday.
"You can`t give me any correlation there?" Alderman Bob Donovan said.
"I don`t, unfortunately, have a specific causal effect, for you but there's definitely a pattern that we`re seeing," Kostelac said.
Kostelac did discuss some specific initiatives taken by the DOJ, like hiring more prosecutors.
Below is a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Justice -- responding to a question from FOX6 as to why Schimel wasn't at Monday's meeting:
"The attorney general cannot and should not get into the business of running local law enforcement agencies. Decisions about resource allocation and best practices and policies are best made at the local level. At the end of the day, local officials need to be the ones accountable for Milwaukee’s violence. However, the attorney general is committed to the city of Milwaukee, just as he is to every other municipality in the state, and has directed that additional resources be provided to the city, including two prosecutors dedicated solely to gun cases and $50,000 in overtime for Milwaukee police officers working on gun crime investigations."
The fourth meeting in this series of seven special meetings regarding crime in Milwaukee is scheduled for Friday, June 24th with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.