Is Milwaukee A Dangerous City (Menomonee Falls, Maple: crimes, how much, houses)

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Police say crime down about 15% in Milwaukee in 2009 - JSOnline


Just more good news coming in about Chief Flynn and the work the dept. is doing.

Property crimes have decreased. Murders are slightly higher from the halfway point of last year. Still, Milwaukee has seen much worse. I am not gonig to say MKE is some kind of Disneyland, but I am holding out hope that Milwaukee will become consistently safer. Mpls nearly went to the brink in the 90's. A NYC newspaper called it "Murderapolis". Violent crime has decreased dramatically since the late 1990's in Mpls. Last year, MKE hit it's lowest murder rate in 23 years. If last year is any indicator, then Milwaukee can make it without hitting 100 murders. Actually, alot of sunbelt cities have murder rates higher than Milwaukee.

[Ron Burgundy]

To put to bed any suspicions that random killings of innocent victims is running rampant in the city, I present this: around 76% of the victims of homicides in the past two years have had prior arrests (averaging around 12 per, yikes!). Furthermore, only 6% of all non-fatal shooting victims were classified as being shot by a stranger. While this doesn't exactly mean you're bulletproof if you don't have a criminal record and don't associate with people who do, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor. As I said earlier, crime is bad where it is, but for the average everyday citizen it's a non-issue. This time proven statistically.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by Ron Burgundy

To put to bed any suspicions that random killings of innocent victims is running rampant in the city, I present this: around 76% of the victims of homicides in the past two years have had prior arrests (averaging around 12 per, yikes!). Furthermore, only 6% of all non-fatal shooting victims were classified as being shot by a stranger. While this doesn't exactly mean you're bulletproof if you don't have a criminal record and don't associate with people who do, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor. As I said earlier, crime is bad where it is, but for the average everyday citizen it's a non-issue. This time proven statistically.

I have been saying this for years, which explains why my grandmother has lived in the same area since she was 20years old. South 20th and Becher Street and never had any problems.

[Allan Trafton]

Originally Posted by Ron Burgundy

To put to bed any suspicions that random killings of innocent victims is running rampant in the city, I present this: around 76% of the victims of homicides in the past two years have had prior arrests (averaging around 12 per, yikes!). Furthermore, only 6% of all non-fatal shooting victims were classified as being shot by a stranger. While this doesn't exactly mean you're bulletproof if you don't have a criminal record and don't associate with people who do, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor. As I said earlier, crime is bad where it is, but for the average everyday citizen it's a non-issue. This time proven statistically.

Thanks for pointing this out Ron. If people fully understood how dangerous being in a moving vehicle then opposed to being a random murder victim in Milwaukee they would be shocked. Your much safer walking on the sidewalks in Milwaukee then driving almost anywhere in the U.S. People need to put their fears in the proper perspective.

[Drover]

I don't particularly care for the "if you MYOB you won't be affected" argument, because that's bull. For one, the "violent crime mostly happens between acquaintances" argument ignores the glaringly obvious fact that you're far more likely to be acquainted with crappy violent people, and more of them, if you live in a crappy violent neighborhood than in a non-crappy, non-violent neighborhood. It's harder to mind your own business when crappy neighbors make their business your business.

Even if you are never directly affected by crime, it still impacts people indirectly in many ways. It creates obvious quality of life issues in the neighborhoods where it's prominent. It depresses property values and development. It makes it more difficult to provide basic services. It destroys employment opportunities. It makes it more difficult to focus on important things like education, nutrition and health care. And a lot of the people it supposedly doesn't affect directly are heavily impacted when it happens to a son, brother, neighbor, friend, et cetera. And once crime reaches a certain threshold, it casts a degree of fatalism on many members of the community. It destroys hope, even among those who are supposedly not "directly" impacted by it. Not to mention it's a lot harder for parents in high-crime areas to keep their kids on the right side of the line and keep them from being one of those who's up to something and has it cost him life or limb. People shouldn't have to fight the prevailing culture around them tooth and nail just to provide half a chance of keeping their kids off of drugs and out of gangs, jail, or the cemetery.

It's funny how many people who basically say "it's not that bad" don't actually live in the neighborhoods where, yes, it is that bad. I presume those of you who mocked the risk assessment of living in various neighborhoods did that very same risk assessment yourselves and chose your neighborhoods accordingly. And I bet you didn't wind up in the 'hood.

[dcforbreakfast]

I had to vote no, even though Milwaukee has an awful reputation for crime and people who live here feel that way too.

It really depends where you live. Personally, I would not live IN Milwaukee and I say that mainly because of the schools. But there ARE safe neighborhoods in Milwaukee proper. Most of the violence in the city is in pockets and everyone knows where those are. Nearly ALL of the violence in Milwaukee is targeted. It's pretty rare random people get in the mix. You can easily insulate yourself from the bad areas and still live close to the city (within a few miles). Places like Wauwatosa, Whitefish Bay, Shorewood are all fantastic neighborhoods that are safe and still very close to downtown. Also I never hear people having problems who live in condos downtown, say in the third ward etc.

I am woman and I feel safe going out in Downtown Milwaukee, so it's not like you have to worry about that. Again, it's really just in certain neighborhoods and mostly seems to revolve around drug dealers etc.

[TommyGavin]

Statistics can be made, or they can be manipulated to show anything you want to show.
Milwaukee has a very serious crime problem. It also has a very violent side to it, and just "minding your own business" doesn't work absolutely.

A good, honest look at the "down-turn" of crime has more to do with cooler than average temperatures, than it really does with any other factors.

People in the Detroit area also say that the violence there is not "random", but rather targeted.
Sometimes you have to put the statistics down and actually get out and get a feel for the community. There are still some very serious issues happening in this town, no different than any other city of comparable size, but to pretend that it isn't dangerous is foolish. It is also dangerous.

I am a male, and I take precautions every time I am out. Violence can happen anytime, anywhere, and it can be completely random. Does this past weekend mean anything to anyone? How about any Miller executives?

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by TommyGavin

I am a male, and I take precautions every time I am out. Violence can happen anytime, anywhere, and it can be completely random. Does this past weekend mean anything to anyone? How about any Miller executives?

When talking about major US cities that normally all have 80+ homicides a year, you have to keep things in perspective. No big metro area is completely safe but relatively safe. Chicago, NYC, SF and SD all have murders every week and it has become the norm. When you compare Milwaukee to other major US cities in crime, it's near the bottom, of course I'm talking about the 30 largest cities. I wouldn't call Milwaukee's crime very serious however in certain areas it is very serious, but overall majority of the city is safe and virtually no crime in the suburbs. I think Milwaukee's perception of a Detroit is in part due to uneducated people who live outside of Milwaukee and have never been to a big city so they don't know what to expect from a big city. They expect a big city to not have any murders. They are just not educated on city living. What some people here call a bad area people in Chicago would laugh at us for thinking it was a bad area. I tell ya, after walking through Bed-Stuy for a couple of months and East NY in BK, Milwaukee just doesn't seem that bad. I have heard people outside of the Twin Cities mention how bad it is up there and they tell me how dirty and filthy the streets are and neighborhoods then I just laugh obviously they haven't been anywhere else in America. I also have heard people complain about Milwaukee traffic.... Like I said I attribute this to uneducated city dwellers or suburbanites. Once they live in a city for 5 years their attitude starts to change.

[Ron Burgundy]

No one here is saying that crime doesn't exist if people "mind their own business". I've pointed out several times in this thread that life ain't peachy for those at ground zero. My last post was directed towards the fear-mongers who won't step foot in the city proper lest they get blasted away immediately upon entry. That just doesn't happen nearly enough to justify the isolation for the average law-abiding citizen.

Again, these findings in no way exonerate the city from it's crime problem. It's real and has to be dealt with.

Also, I agree that statistics only tell one side of the story. "Feel for the community" goes both ways, though. I went out and got a "feel for the community" down in Walkers Point the other day for lunch, undeterred by the recent shooting there. Guess what, my wife, baby, and I all got through lunch unscathed. Imagine that. Sure, that argument is just as specious as the one coming from the "Milwaukee is a Hell-Hole" crowd, but I just refuse to let this city get unfairly crucified by the words of the ignorant for the actions of a select few.






EDIT: kudos to TommyGavin for being the one 'yes-vote' to defend their position. I don't agree with his opinion, but I respect and appreciate the opportunity for discourse.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by Ron Burgundy

I went out and got a "feel for the community" down in Walkers Point the other day for lunch, undeterred by the recent shooting there. Guess what, my wife, baby, and I all got through lunch unscathed. Imagine that.

You should see the looks I get when I tell people who live in the suburbs that I live in Walker's Point.... then I tell them how great my neighborhood is and they can't believe it. When I tell people that I had a Bentley and a Aston Martin parked in front of my row house they don't believe me. One day there was a Porsche conv and a Maserati and a Bentley all parked in front of my row house at 10pm at night and they parked their all night and nothing happened to their cars. I think the wealthy clientele that comes to Walker's Point is their for the french restaurant and Crazy Water restaurant. I had a lady once tell me she won't drive through Bay View even during the day and avoids West Allis as much as possible. Some people are just ignorant to a lot of the things around them.