Milwaukee's 2025 homicide increases continue as overall crime drops
This year, there were 69 reported homicides in Milwaukee between Jan. 1 and June 30, a 13% increase from 61 a year ago. The year-to-year comparison statistics are now closer in the first week of July, which were not included in the mid-year crime report, with homicides now outpacing last year by 6%.
"We'll continue to monitor that. The police department, of course, monitors that. The Office of Community Wellness and Safety continues to go out in the community and works to address those situations in Milwaukee as well," Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a press conference Wednesday detailing the second quarter's crime stats.
In a prepared statement, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman cited "poor conflict resolution, petty arguments and interfamily conflict" as the root of the increase, and he also asked for help from the community to curb the heightened level of gun violence.
"We do our best to go above and beyond by engaging with youth, mentoring and working with community partners to give young ones in our community positive outlets. But we can only do so much," Norman said.
"MPD asks how we as a community get into the hearts and minds of those who place more value on petty arguments and violence than on the value of human life."
The rise in homicides comes at a time when overall shootings are dipping, with nonfatal shootings dropping from 294 to 274, something Johnson called an "interesting dichotomy." The city's clearance rate for 2025 homicides was at 82%, a figure that factors in closed cases of past year's homicides in the total.
Having an increase in homicides, Milwaukee stands out against other cities across the United States. As of July 1, Baltimore saw a 22% decrease in homicides from the same time in 2024. Philadelphia's homicides went down 9% and New Orleans has seen record low murder numbers.
Despite the recent uptick, Johnson said he was confident Milwaukee's homicide numbers would soon see a decrease like other cities.
"Typically those numbers have been going down," he said. "So we'll continue to emphasize the need for partnerships to address those things. Call out adults that are doing bad things out there, working to invest in kids as well. I think we will eventually continue down the path to success as it relates to homicides of Milwaukee, because we've seen that it has been working."
Overall, part 1 crimes — which the FBI defines as homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and vehicle theft — have decreased 11% from last year. Total violent crimes went down 17% and property crimes 7%.
Robbery and aggravated assault both went down 19%, along with decreases to burglary (3%) and theft (7%). Positive change was seen in reckless driving as well. There was a 4% decrease in both crashes and hit and run crashes, and crash fatalities were cut in half to 18 from 36.
Another category that, like homicides, has increased this year is human trafficking with 25 offenses, six more than at this time last year (19) and seven more than two years ago (18). Rape also went up from 215 instances last year to 218 this year.
At the press conference, both Norman and Johnson emphasized the importance of helping the city's youth to curb the violence.
Norman brought up two shootings involving teenagers: one in late June in which 15-year-old Hezile J. Frison shot his older sister, Ashley Hudson, over a social media dispute; and another where a 13-year-old shot four people, killing one.
Johnson said programs like Camp Rise, a city-led summer camp, and the YMCA are important to keeping kids safe.
"We want to make sure that more young people in Milwaukee have opportunities just like [the YMCA]," Johnson said. "I know that it's important for kids to be safe and to make the right choices."
Jack Albright can be reached at jalbright@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee continues to see increase in homicides in 2025
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