Tom Barrett and the Neighborhood Safety Initiative

Milwaukee's Mayor Tom Barrett surfaced to make a public appearance on Monday.

He wanted everyone to know that the Neighborhood Safety Initiative has produced positive results.

Non-fatal shootings in city down 22%

An anti-crime initiative that put Milwaukee police on patrol in some of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods this summer received credit on Monday for a nearly 22% drop in non-fatal shootings as well as a decrease in overall homicides during 2007.

So far, the Neighborhood Safety Initiative is working, police and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said during a news conference outside the District 3 police station near N. 49th St. and W. Lisbon Ave.

"With the effort put forth on this initiative, the bad guys are starting to get the message: If we catch you, you are definitely going to jail," Milwaukee police Deputy Chief Brian O'Keefe said.

Barrett got a firsthand look at the program by going out on patrols with officers Saturday. The mayor and police touted drops in violent crimes as a measure of success for the $2 million program, which began just before Memorial Day and is to run through Sept. 8.

Police noted that between Jan. 6 and July 29 this year, there have been 275 non-fatal shootings, down from 351 during the same period in 2006. Those numbers are "raw" and still under review but should not change appreciably, said police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.

Since May, 1,447 people have been arrested. Other figures included 110 firearms recovered, 50 of those involving felons possessing firearms.

Police and crime experts argue that the true measure of gun violence in a community is the total number of shootings, not homicides. That is because any shooting could become a killing, depending on a bullet's path and medical treatment.

Barrett noted that the drop in non-fatal shootings affected six of seven police districts, with the exception of No. 1, near downtown, in which there was no change. It had two shootings in each year.

"We have put dozens of police officers on the street. I think that they have been successful in helping us to reduce the violence in the city," Barrett said.

...The mayor further noted that the city's homicide year-to-date figures are down by 20 from 2005, when there were 77 homicides by July 29.

"That is still too many," he said. "I am not satisfied with the results, but I think we have to point out where we are making progress."

A couple things--

1. It should come as no surprise that more police means less crime.

2. What's going to happen on September 8, the scheduled date for the program to end?

In effect, the city is tipping off the thugs, giving them a timeline for the withdrawal of police forces. That's not good.

While it's good news that the mayor and the police can cite figures showing that the Neighborhood Safety Initiative has been effective, it's bad news that the stepped-up patrols will soon draw down.

Don't the figures reveal that the city needs those extra patrols on the streets?

Yes.

I agree with the mayor's statement that the level of violence in the city is still too high.

Since the news conference, there have been more shootings and homicides.

Ramon Spokes died early Tuesday after being shot multiple times.

A 29-year-old man was shot about 12:39 a.m. Tuesday.

A shooting that occurred about 4:19 a.m. in the 5000 block of W. Chambers St. is being investigated as accidental, according to police. A 27-year-old man was shot while sitting in the driver's seat of a car where a 28-year-old man in the backseat fired a bullet that went through the seat.

A 19-year-old man was shot at 7:40 p.m. Tuesday.

This violence, of course, is occurring with the Neighborhood Safety Initiative police patrols in place.