Violence and the City

Milwaukee is getting noticed AGAIN for all the wrong reasons.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The overall national increase in violent crime was modest, 2.5 percent, which equates to more than 1.4 million crimes. Nevertheless, that was the largest percentage increase since 1991.

Nationally, murders rose 4.8 percent, meaning there were more than 16,900 victims in 2005. That would be the most since 1998 and the largest percentage increase in 15 years.

Some big cities felt the brunt.

Murders rose from 59 to 104 in Birmingham, Ala., up 76 percent; from 59 to 85 in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, N.C., a 44 percent spike; from 89 to 126 in Kansas City, Mo., a 42 percent rise; from 87 to 122 in Milwaukee, a 40 percent jump; and from 79 to 109 in Cleveland, up 38 percent.

"The killings are going in spurts," said Judy Martin, a victims' advocate in Cleveland whose son was shot to death in a 1994 carjacking. "A number of the murders this year seem to come from a number of young men jumping on someone and killing them. We are going downhill."

Although violent crime rates rose less than five percent nationally, Milwaukee saw an embarrassing forty percent increase last year.

Another AP account notes:

An FBI report released Monday shows that violent crime held steady in Madison last year.

Madison had two fewer violent crimes last year, dropping to 839 from 841 the year before.

So, Madison's rate is holding steady; but Milwaukee stands out as one of the cities in the U.S. to experience an enormous jump in violent crime, bucking the national trend of more modest increases.

Perhaps Tom Barrett's "Ceasefire Sabbath" won't be enough to take care of the problem.

This might call for another visit from Gov. Jim Doyle.

In any event, both of them should probably write letters to the NRA leadership right away.

Sounds like a plan.