Crime in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin

South Milwaukee's crime rate

There were 376 crimes reported in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 1,814 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does South Milwaukee compare?

South Milwaukee has a lower overall crime rate than the country as a whole. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

South Milwaukee's overall crime rate is 3% higher than the overall crime rate in Wisconsin. Statewide, there were 102,742 crimes reported in 2019, or 1,765 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In South Milwaukee, however, property crimes account for about 92% of all offenses.

Despite accounting for a higher than average share of total offenses, property crime is less prevalent in South Milwaukee than it is nationwide. There were 347 property crimes in South Milwaukee in 2019, or 1,674 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in South Milwaukee. There were 308 larcenies reported in South Milwaukee in 2019, or 1,486 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 22 break-ins reported in South Milwaukee in 2019, or 106 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In South Milwaukee, meanwhile, there were 17 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 82 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In South Milwaukee, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 8% share of all reported crime.

At 140 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in South Milwaukee is well below the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in South Milwaukee reported a total of 29 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in South Milwaukee. There were 21 aggravated assaults reported in South Milwaukee in 2019, or 101 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far higher, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America, but there were no robberies reported in South Milwaukee in 2019. The national robbery rate was 86 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 7 rapes reported in South Milwaukee in 2019, or 34 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There was one homicide reported in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in South Milwaukee is 4.8 for every 100,000 people, similar to the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

South Milwaukee compared to other cities in Wisconsin

South Milwaukee has a higher crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in Wisconsin. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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