Illustration by Kristian Knutsen; image via city of Milwaukee

Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence

Milwaukee experienced a dramatic increase in shootings and homicides in 2015. This violence was concentrated in the poorest areas of Wisconsin's largest city, one with entrenched racial and economic disparities. The locations of most homicides correspond with the zip codes that have the highest poverty rates, the lowest levels of educational attainment, weak access to mental-health services, and high numbers of people struggling to pay rent. These issues are also connected to historical events like the city's urban-renewal programs of the 1960s, which displaced many African-American families from their homes.
 
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence
Series: Policing Practices And Accountability In Wisconsin

What Milwaukee's ShotSpotter Sensors Hear

Scott Gordon
WisContext
An audio-based software system that helps police departments detect outdoor gunshots remains a mystery in many ways.
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence
Series: Policing Practices And Accountability In Wisconsin

Greeting New Year's In Milwaukee With Celebratory Gunfire

Scott Gordon
WisContext
When the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, people across the country celebrate by firing guns into the air. For a variety of reasons, it's not clear how many Americans actually do this.
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence
Series: Policing Practices And Accountability In Wisconsin

Sylville Smith, Violence And Racial Divides In Milwaukee

Scott Gordon
WisContext
Kristian Knutsen
WisContext
In the time since a Milwaukee Police Department officer shot and killed 23-year-old Sylville Smith on Saturday, August 13, 2016, Wisconsin has played host to a fractured yet familiar story.
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence

A Peer Mentoring Effort To Keep The Peace In Milwaukee

Video: 
Frederica Freyberg
PBS Wisconsin
Shared via
WPT
Minister Caliph Muab'El, executive director of Breaking Barriers Mentoring, led over 100 Sherman Park teens to go door-to-door in Milwaukee earlier to peer advise on the subjects of peace and civil unrest. He discusses the unrest in the city and the conditions that contributed to it.
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence
Series: Policing Practices And Accountability In Wisconsin

The Road To Fear And Unrest In Milwaukee's Sherman Park Neighborhood

Video: 
Frederica Freyberg
PBS Wisconsin
Shared via
WPT
The underlying anger and tension in some Milwaukee neighborhoods have many believing it was just a matter of time before things hit a boiling point. State Rep. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, talks about the officer-involved shooting, protests and arson in the city's Sherman Park neighborhood.
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence
Series: Policing Practices And Accountability In Wisconsin

How Milwaukee Moves Forward After Rioting In Sherman Park

Video: 
Frederica Freyberg
PBS Wisconsin
Shared via
WPT
Violent protests erupted in the Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee after an armed black man was shot and killed by police. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett discusses the situation in the city.
Pretty Soon Runs Out
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence

'Pretty Soon Runs Out' Film Captures Failures, Frustrations Of Milwaukee Urban Renewal

Scott Gordon
WisContext
"I mean business today," a Milwaukee woman identified only as Mrs. Taylor tells an official in the Department of City Development. "I've been put off long enough."
ShotSpotter screen view
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence
Series: Known Unknowns
Series: Policing Practices And Accountability In Wisconsin

Milwaukee Committed To ShotSpotter But Outcomes, Data Remain Elusive

Scott Gordon
WisContext
As cities around the United States struggle to respond to gun violence in neighborhoods where residents may not trust law enforcement, dozens of police departments are turning to a gunshot-detection system called ShotSpotter.
Aerial view of Milwaukee, looking southeast
Series: Milwaukee Gun Violence

How Milwaukee's Economic, Social Disparities Correspond With Gun Violence

Scott Gordon
WisContext
Although crime, poverty and other social factors often overlap, mapping these factors in Milwaukee shows dramatic divisions that align with the city's racial segregation.