Column: Our Communities Deserve Public Safety

In America, one core role of government is to secure the rights of citizens, including keeping them safe from those intent on doing them harm. The most important job of public officials is to foster a civil society so law-abiding citizens can go about their lives in peace.

However, some elected officials seem unable or unwilling to make clear through public policy that criminal behavior is not tolerated. The result of lenient attitudes and systems has predictably been more crime, less livable communities, and a diminished standard of living for everyone.

Far too many Milwaukee neighborhoods remain unsafe. As of this writing, there have been 116 homicides in Milwaukee in 2024, this after the city experienced several straight years of record violence. Especially disturbing, many of the victims have been innocent children.

As Milwaukee becomes increasingly violent, surrounding communities also begin to experience the realities of growing rates of criminal activity.

Milwaukee was the eighth-worst city for vehicle theft in the nation in 2021, and car thefts remain 38% higher than before the pandemic. Deadly reckless driving also continues to plague our communities. I commend City Attorney Evan Goyke for his announcement that his office will no longer go easy on those who risk lives for a quick thrill behind the wheel. I can only hope others adopt this same attitude.

Local businesses also continue to struggle with crime, including organized theft. Retailers of basic goods often have no choice but to harden or close stores in already distressed neighborhoods, difficult decisions that are often made to protect employees. I learned how severe this little-discussed problem is while working to strengthen penalties for organized retail theft.

Public policy isn’t a magic fix for all of these problems. We know there are many contributing factors behind these dire statistics, but lawmakers can and should do all we can to support the effort to keep families, neighborhoods, and schools safe. Last session I authored or co-sponsored over a dozen bills with that objective.

One bill I authored, Senate Bill 517, would have addressed a key source of police turnover and falling morale with a simple update to an outdated law that permits the harassment of officers through the courts. The difficulty Milwaukee area police are having with recruiting new classes of officers only underscores the need for such reform.

I also authored Senate Bill 86, which would have slowed the revolving door of the justice system by limiting the ability of prosecutors to bargain down charges in certain violent crimes. Police frequently tell me of their frustration of constantly re-arresting the same people, only to have them released and committing new crimes within days or hours.

Unfortunately the Governor vetoed these bills, but a recent state constitutional amendment toughening bail rules bypassed his veto pen and was enacted directly by a vote of the people. Now, judges have the ability to impose tougher bail—if they choose to exercise it.

I am hopeful that bipartisan agreement is possible on some significant criminal justice issues, and I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help find real solutions for these concerning trends.

One of my priorities for the new session will be to update how we treat violent juvenile offenders. Our current juvenile justice system is outdated and is not providing sufficient accountability for those teenagers who are repeatedly victimizing their communities.  

We can and must ensure that Wisconsin citizens feel safe and those who intentionally victimize others are held accountable. Even in a divided political environment, surely we can all find agreement on that.