Policy Forum: Milwaukee arrests, traffic and subject stops fell sharply over decade; committee hears multiple possible causes

The Wisconsin Policy Forum told the Milwaukee Common Council Public Safety and Health Committee on Jan. 30 that arrests and street stops by the Milwaukee Police Department fell sharply over the last decade, and committee members pressed police and oversight officials on what those declines mean for public safety.

Rob Henkin, the forum’s immediate past president, and Ari Brown, a senior research associate, presented data showing a sustained decline across types of police contacts. "MPD made a little over 51,000 arrests in 2012, but just over 9,000 in 2023, which is a decline of 82.3%," Brown said. He also told the committee that traffic stops dropped from about 150,000 in 2015 to 27,715 in 2023, a decline of about 81.5%.

The forum’s presentation highlighted where the decreases were largest. The greatest proportional drop was in "summons and citation" arrests — cases where a person is cited and released with a court date — which the forum reported fell about 95.7% over the study period. Brown said the drop in arrests was not concentrated in a single year but reflected a consistent multi-year trend.

"We feel even more confident, than we did a year ago when we theorized that it's really a confluence of several factors," Henkin told the committee. Forum researchers said those factors include long-term…