ANOTHER BAY VIEW ROBBERY

It's just another day in the neighborhood.

Last Thursday, Groppi's, Bay View's beloved Italian grocery store, was robbed by an armed man.

I said:

I wonder which Bay View business will be the next to be victimized.

Tonight or tomorrow, where will patrons be told to hit the floor as a thug with a gun robs the place?

It will happen.

I can't take any credit whatsoever for the accuracy of my prediction.

It was like predicting that the sun will set tonight and rise again tomorrow.

Read more about crime in Bay View and on the far south side here and here and here and here.

Here's news of the latest victim of the crime spree:

The robbery of a Starbucks Monday night is similar to as many as 20 other robberies in the Bay View area since December, Milwaukee police said today.

"We can't say they're all related but we are looking at them as a group because of the similarities," department spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said.

The coffee shop, 2110 E. Oklahoma Ave., was robbed at 6:40 p.m. by a man who pointed a gun at a customer and cashier. He got their money and fled.

He was described as a white male, about 5-feet-8-inches to 5-feet-9-inches tall with a stocky build. He covered his face with a dark cloth and wore dark sunglasses. He wore a blue, thigh-length jacket, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and baggy blue jeans. He also had on white winter gloves.

He carried a gray, semi-automatic handgun.

Schwartz said robberies in the area started in December when Fantasy Gifts was robbed.

Police are asking businesses to take the following precautions: Have functional camera equipment and know how to use it; don't have large amounts of cash in cash drawers; make routine cash drops to the bank; have more than one person working at a time; and have an unobstructed view of the business from the street.

The description of the Starbucks robber is very similar to that of the Citgo station suspect.

That man also had a scarf or cloth covering his face.

When that robbery occurred, the scarf was the ONLY description of the criminal. Nothing about height, weight, or race.

Now, the police or the media or both have decided it's time to give more complete descriptions of the suspects.

I've bashed the police and the media repeatedly for providing inadequate information to the public about the thugs terrorizing the area.

I'm glad to see that change.

To my knowledge, this is the first time police department spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz has acknowledged the rash of robberies as being connected in any way.

It's about time. It's long overdue.

I think the precautions being recommended by police to prevent crime are a joke. It's like treating a broken leg with a bandaid.

Is there any business that doesn't follow the suggestion about not keeping a lot of cash on the premises as a matter of normal procedure?

As far as the security cameras go, some of these businesses are small places in what was once a very safe area.

The fact that police are saying all area businesses need camera equipment speaks to the deterioration of the neighborhood.

Because some of the businesses are such small operations, having more than one employee working at a time isn't feasible.

What must be particularly frustrating for the businesses is that none of the suggestions from police would have prevented any of the robberies.

True, cameras might aid in identifying suspects and hopefully result in police being able to find the thugs and get them off the streets. That would cut down on the crimes waiting to happen.

This is what troubles me:

Why did it take so long for the Milwaukee Police Department to formally acknowledge that crime has overrun a previously safe area of the city?

Was there political pressure to not draw attention to the fact that one of the last safe sections of the city has fallen to the thugs?

The crime has plagued the area for months.

TWENTY ROBBERIES.

This is way too little, way too late.