WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, President Joe Biden met with police chiefs from around the nation, including Milwaukee’s Jeffrey Norman. The President touted a reduction in homicides and other crimes during his presidency.
“Chiefs in this room know that when their communities trust the police, we can solve a hell of a lot more crimes, a hell of a lot faster,” said Biden.
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, the city saw a 20% decline in homicides between 2022 and 2023. During that same time period, Milwaukee had 4% less non-fatal shootings. There were also nearly 25% less motor vehicle thefts, although carjacking increased.
“Today we talked about the importance of the violence interrupters, the importance of investing in our communities,” said Norman. “Public safety is a team effort. I’ve always said that, in regards to being able to lean into all resources.”
The Biden administration credited funding from the American Rescue Plan for helping Milwaukee reduce crime, and Norman did too.
According to the White House, Milwaukee invested over $40 million to pay for new community policing officers, fund gun crime investigations and increase dispatchers to handle 911 calls. Norman said additional funding is welcome, as is collaborating more with federal agencies to reduce gun violence.
“The Department of Justice has, again, a lot of different resources, especially when we talk about FBI, ATF, DEA,” Norman said. “So all these things help out the manpower issues that we have at the local level. Being able to have those investigative tools, be able to have those individuals who are the analysts and other resources to be able to help us and to lift up public safety.”
The President said Congress needs to take more action to combat crime, such as enacting universal background checks for gun purchases and banning semi-automatic, military style guns.