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Milwaukee to host violence summit
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by Richie Rathsack
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
A Milwaukee alderman is organizing a summit to address the high number of crimes committed by African-Americans in the state’s largest city.
The call for a summit by Milwaukee Ald. Joe Davis, District 2, came the day after two black men were shot while driving. The driver was shot in the arm, and the passenger was shot in the head.
The vehicle crashed into two parked cars and then into an apartment building in Milwaukee, Davis said in a release.
"I've seen an increase in the number of homicides in the district that I represent," Davis said. "I feel compelled to move forward and ask those here in the city of Milwaukee to get together and plot out a solution for the problem."
Davis added groups in the past have tried to address the issue but have met little success.
"I know that people have come together to talk about what the problems are, but the recommendations have never been seen through," Davis said. "Quite frankly, it's the African-American leadership who are willing to sit down and work on what is an African-American problem."
Davis is now organizing leaders in the local black community to address the problem. Some of the organizations that have already confirmed participation include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Urban League and the African-American Chamber of Commerce.
Community leaders including former Milwaukee Police Chief Arthur Jones and Don Rosette, a local radio personality, have agreed to participate.
NAACP Milwaukee branch President Jerry Hamilton said while the NAACP is not currently involved in any crime prevention programs, she would like to hear more about what Davis is hoping to do with the summit.
"I'm very interested in it," Hamilton said. "We've gone on radio shows and talk shows to talk about it, but haven't done anything like this."
Census data for Milwaukee estimates that African-Americans make up about 37 percent of the total population of 586,941. Citing city crime statistics, Davis said African-Americans are victims in 79 percent of all homicides committed in Milwaukee.
According to national census data estimates, African-Americans comprise about 13 percent of the U.S. population, yet were convicted of 50.9 percent of all murder and non-negligent homicide charges nationwide and were victims in 50 percent of murders according to 2006 FBI statistics. The FBI statistics also indicated that metropolitan cities account for about 91 percent of all murder and non-negligent manslaughter crimes.
Davis is hoping that other cities might benefit from what the summit in Milwaukee can accomplish.
"I want to put together a very structured foundation so we can build off that," Davis said. "That foundation can be used not just here in Milwaukee but also in other cities to reduce the senseless violence they have in their communities."
According to the Milwaukee Police Department website, the city recently started a program that is targeted at curtailing violent crime in neighborhoods.
The Neighborhood Safety Initiative "aggressively addressed violent crime along with the quality of life offenses" according to the website.
Milwaukee crime statistics from 2007 indicate a drop of 20 percent in the number of homicides from late May through the end of September compared to 2006 crime data. The statistics also indicated the number of non-fatal shootings from January through September in 2007 decreased 21 percent from 2006.
In 2006, there was a total of 103 murder and non-negligent manslaughter crimes in Milwaukee, according to the FBI crime statistics.
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