Vehicle thefts down in Milwaukee but carjackings tick up in 'disturbing trend,' chief says

Vehicle thefts in Milwaukee have dropped in 2023 compared to the same time in each of the last two years even as carjackings have ticked up in that same time, officials said Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, as we take one crew off, another one pops up because of the unfortunate ease of carjackings for some of these individuals," Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a press briefing at the Police Administration Building, 749 W. State St.

Still, he and Mayor Cavalier Johnson pointed to an overall drop from each of the previous years in "Part 1" crimes, as defined by the FBI to include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and vehicle theft.

"We're seeing some positive trends in serious crime numbers here in Milwaukee," Johnson said. "Yes, there are some categories in which the numbers are stable or trending slightly in the wrong direction. The bigger picture, though is more clear."

He cited a decrease in homicides compared to the same point in the previous two years. In each of those years, along with 2020, the city saw record homicides, and deaths have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Carjackings rise as vehicle thefts decrease

Carjackings have increased in recent years even as auto thefts, which happen in much larger numbers, have trended down, Milwaukee police data show.

As of Sept. 30 this year, carjackings stood at 343. At the same point in 2022 and 2021, there had been 319 and 253 carjackings reported, respectively.

At the same time, vehicle thefts as of Sept. 30 had dropped by 29% from the same time last year and 43% from the same time in 2021, according to data police presented Tuesday.

At the end of the third quarter, the city had seen 4,532 vehicle thefts compared to 6,396 at the same point in 2022 and 7,953 in 2021.

Norman said a variety of people are involved in auto thefts and carjackings as opposed to a single, primary group that is moving from one crime to the other.

He called carjackings — taking a vehicle by force, often while armed — a "disturbing trend" that the department is working to address.

"We need to make sure that we have other engagements for our children, we have to have other engagements for our young adults, because this is a crime of impulse," Norman said.

He urged gun owners to properly secure their weapons and for drivers to not leave their vehicles unattended to avoid their being used in carjackings.

More: Milwaukee minister shot several times during attempted carjacking while driving for Uber

Homicide clearance rate drops with homicides lower than previous years

Homicides in Milwaukee are lower than at the same point in the previous two years, though the department's homicide clearance rate has also dropped since its April crime statistics report.

As of Sept. 30, homicides stood at 130 compared to 168 and 141 at the same point in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Non-fatal shootings were about the same as previous years, having reached 681.

Even as the pace of homicides has slowed from 2021 and 2022, the department's homicide clearance rate has dropped from earlier this year.

Clearance rates are calculated by the number of homicides in a given year divided by the number of cases cleared that year, no matter what year the homicide actually occurred in.

In April, city officials reported that in the first three months of the year the department's homicide clearance rate had returned to pre-pandemic levels, reaching 74% through March. Norman had attributed the figure to a downturn in homicides at that point in the year that allowed investigators more time to follow up on cases.

That clearance rate did not last.

On Tuesday, officials said the clearance rate for 2023 stood at 55% — just a bit above the 50% figure that had been in place since 2020.

Norman cited the continued elevated number of homicides compared to pre-pandemic levels, creating a capacity challenge for investigators.

He hoped that a proposed increase in police sworn strength next year would help ensure there is enough staff to investigate homicides and build trust with the community, so people are willing to share information with police.

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Vehicle thefts down in Milwaukee but carjackings ticking up