Reported crime in Wisconsin dropped 5.8 percent in 2004, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It was the ninth time in the last decade crime has gone down, reaching a 31-year low. The drop matches a nationwide trend that began in 1993, said criminologist Samuel Walker of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. “There has been a remarkable decline,” he said. “There is no question the national trend is very real by all measures, and it is a very positive development.”
Experts say there is no single reason for the decrease, but rather cite a combination of less crack cocaine use and other societal factors. Some cite aggressive police strategies and lock-up rates. Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. called the numbers encouraging but merely a “mechanical” measurement of crime. “The question is, do people living in the most violence-ravaged areas of the city feel safe? The answer to that question is no,” he said. “I am encouraged, but we have a long way to go.”