Gun Thefts Saw 8-Fold Increase in Downtown

Guns. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Police Department.

In recent years gun thefts began rising in Milwaukee at an alarming rate. Data from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) shows that total stolen firearms in the city rose from 738 in 2019 to 1,389 in 2022, almost doubling.

But that was nothing compared to the spike in Police District 1, which includes Downtown and the East Side: gun thefts rose from just 26 in 2019 to 233 in 2019, an astounding, 8-fold increase. What was causing this?

The MPD noted a correlation between Milwaukee Bucks games and an increase in vehicle break-ins in the area around Fiserv Forum, which is located in Police District 1. Mayor Cavalier Johnson jumped on the issue. “We have people driving into the city, to Bucks game and their guns are stolen from their cars,” he told Urban Milwaukee.

“Criminals aren’t stupid,” Johnson added. “They realize people are driving to the city and don’t take precautions, they don’t have the gun locked and it’s just sitting there waiting to be stolen.”

So Johnson began working with the Bucks management and the Milwaukee Police on the issue. “We collaborated on a communication plan alongside city officials, the MPS and other corporate citizens to encourage visitors coming Downtown not to leave guns in their cars,” Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin told Urban Milwaukee.

The MPD issued a statement in January 2023 warning car owners to leave their firearms at home.”We’ve seen an increase of guns stolen from vehicles,” Police Chief Jeffrey Norman told the community. “This gives greater accessibility to individuals that may not be allowed to possess firearms. If you legally carry a firearm, lock your vehicles and keep your firearm secure.”

The Bucks began a campaign urging fans not to leave guns, other weapons or other valuables in their cars. They put up signs saying “Leave It At Home. If You Can’t Bring It In, Don’t Bring It At All.”

The campaign, to judge by the statistics on gun thefts, had a significant impact. District 1 gun thefts dropped from 233 in 2022 to 113 in 2024, and the city-wide totals dropped by 35%, from 1,389 in 2022 to 900 in 2024. “It was an important example of working together for positive results,” Feigin says.

A national study reported by Urban Milwaukee in July found that Milwaukee ranked fourth highest in gun thefts among 16 cities, behind only the cities of Memphis, Detroit and Kansas, with 239.2 gun thefts per 100,000 residents. But that was based on the 2022 year, which has before the numbers began to drop in Milwaukee.

While the mayor is heartened by the recent reduction in gun thefts, he still believes state legislation is needed to address the issue.

“We need greater penalties for people who break into cars and steal guns,” he says. “But at the same time there should be penalties for people who don’t secure guns in their cars. There should be some financial penalty.”

But the mayor has had no luck so far convincing Republican lawmakers who control the Wisconsin Legislature of the need for such laws. “I’m not talking about taking guns away from people who have them legally,” Johnson emphasized. In fact, his goal is for them to keep their guns rather than getting them stolen.

The proposed laws would also make the job of police officer “easier and safer,” he notes. “The police have to deal with this, they have to go after all these people with guns.”

Assistant Milwaukee Police Chief Nicole Waldner noted the problem earlier this summer at a press conference about the death of two police officers. “The problem is too many guns,” she said. “I could put an officer on every single corner and that will not eliminate the amount of guns in the hands of people who should not have them all over the city.”

“I think it’s an issue for all the legislators making an issue of public safety and who use their megaphone to talk about violence in the city,” Johnson noted. “At the end of the day we would be a safer community with the legislation I’m asking them to consider.”