Violence can lead to more violence
So far this year, the 414LIFE’s hospital responder program has received 175 referrals, compared with 112 at the same time last year, said deRoon-Cassini, who works with the team.
Activists like Tory Lowe, who helps homicide victims’ families raise money for funerals and push for justice, also have had to slow their work because of the pandemic.
“Now that COVID-19 is out here, a lot of these people are not in the streets that would normally be out here, like myself,” Lowe said, adding he has only assisted in 20 cases, rather than the usual 60 to 70 by this time in the year.
In addition to domestic-related violence, detectives also have noticed a rise in petty disputes that escalate with easy access to firearms. Fatal shootings have followed arguments over grass clippings, insults and fender-benders.
Officers seized more than 2,600 firearms so far this year, up 23% compared with the same time last year. Casper, the homicide investigator, said as more people go armed, the chance for petty disputes to end in lethal violence rises.
“These issues that people are getting shot over, I think ‘How come y’all couldn’t talk that out?’” Lowe said. “This is just lack of problem-solving skills.”
When people are not held quickly accountable for shootings or homicides, retaliation can become more likely and more violence can unfold.
The pandemic has slowed down parts of the criminal justice system, including the courts, and prompted worries about keeping witnesses and surviving victims engaged in cases that stretch on for months. Jails are holding fewer people to prevent the virus’ spread, though homicide suspects have remained behind bars.
“With COVID, the justice system isn’t hitting on all cylinders,” Casper said. “That revolving door is just spinning, putting these people right back onto the street.”
The volume of homicides makes it difficult for investigators to keep up, especially as detectives have continued to contend with the pandemic. Earlier this month, Milwaukee’s homicide unit had a COVID outbreak that temporarily sidelined as many as 10 detectives.
So far, Milwaukee’s homicide clearance rate is 54%, down from a range of 75% to 78% in the past three years. A case is considered cleared when someone is arrested or when a suspect is known but cannot be arrested. No criminal conviction is necessary. The clearance rate includes all homicide arrests in a given year, no matter when the crime occurred.
Solving a homicide or shooting has been linked to people’s willingness to engage in the criminal justice system. As mass protests against police brutality took hold this summer, some experts have suggested feelings of legal cynicism increased.
The loss of trust and faith in the criminal justice system can lead people to withdraw from helping police investigations and possibly take justice into their own hands. But that has little academic evidence to support it, because police legitimacy is so difficult to measure.
Policies, strategies and programs to address community violence and police reform are both needed, because those issues overlap in the same neighborhoods, said Reggie Moore, executive director of the city’s Office of Violence Prevention.
“If there’s a breakdown in what we would call ‘procedurally just policing,’ and a breakdown between community and policing, then that could also contribute to homicides not being solved,” he said.
Frustration mounting: ‘Elected officials do not care about us’
Back in the recording studio, local music producer Doc Holiday plays back the track for “Put ‘Em Down.”
The song does not spend much time addressing elected officials or the police for the city’s persistent violence.
“Elected officials do not care about us. We out here scared to come out of our homes,” Dent said. “We can depend on ourselves. If you have a family member or a friend who you know is up to no good, then you interject, you try to talk them out of it.”
The patterns of the city’s violence have remained steady and continue to disproportionately victimize young Black men. The hardest-hit areas of the city for both homicides and nonfatal shootings remain highly disadvantaged ones, said Constance Kostelac, director of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission.
Those include four northside neighborhoods: Park West, North Division, Franklin Heights and Harambee, along with other areas, such as Old North Milwaukee, and the south side’s Historic Mitchell Street, according to the commission’s data. Between 20 and 44 people have been victimized by homicides or nonfatal shootings in those neighborhoods as of early October.
“If you don’t have those longer-term investments in the areas that are associated with concentrated disadvantage, we’re not going to have the long term impact,” Kostelac said. “But at the same time, we need immediate responses to what’s happening currently because it’s a concerning situation for the city as a whole and for neighborhoods being disproportionately affected.”
Those gathered in the recording studio do not see adequate funding for social services or interrupting violence. They do not see a plan to overcome a pandemic that has disproportionately affected Black and Latino people.
They played back the track, letting its urgent message fill the room:
Life is short, it’s time to pay attention Time is now to bring some change, change your brain, grow and make a difference
I hear them screaming ‘Yolo, fool,’ but just remember, you only die once too.
They believe the only ones they can count on to make a difference are everyday people.
Sophie Carson of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.