Policy forum: Milwaukee arrests and traffic stops plunged; committee hears multiple possible causes

The Wisconsin Policy Forum presented data to the Milwaukee Common Council Public Safety and Health Committee on Jan. 30 showing a sustained drop in Milwaukee Police Department arrests and traffic stops over the 2012–2023 period, and committee members and department representatives discussed possible causes and policy responses.

The Forum’s presentation summarized its key findings: arrests fell from about 51,000 in 2012 to just over 9,000 in 2023 (a drop of roughly 82.3%), and traffic stops declined from roughly 150,000 in 2015 to about 27,715 in 2023 (about an 81.5% decrease). The Forum also reported a 95.7% fall in “summons and citation” arrests and noted declines across both on‑view and taken‑into‑custody arrest categories. The committee voted to place the report on file.

The Forum’s case for a multicausal explanation Rob Henkin, immediate past president of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, and Ari Brown, senior research associate, told the committee they studied 10 years of data and compared Milwaukee with a set of peer cities that report incident‑based data. Brown said Milwaukee’s decline was the largest among those peers. Henkin and Brown urged…