MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Milwaukee police issued a crime alert for the city’s downtown “Entertainment District” and Murray Hill neighborhood on Jan. 27, noting an increase in armed robberies and auto burglaries.
Milwaukee Police Inspector Shannon Seymer-Tabaska said, “We’ve seen an increase in the number of people getting into cars around the entertainment district. Also in the East End, near the UWM area, we’ve seen an increase in armed robberies in the Murray Hill neighborhood.”
Those “recreational areas” include the Deer Area and the Third Area.Inspectors said the crimes took place between 4pm and 7pm and 11pm and 2am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday
The MPD is urging people to be vigilant when parking their cars. They recommend parking in a well-lit area, making sure there are no valuables in the car, and if you have guns in your car, make sure they are properly stored in a locked box.
Seymer-Tabaska also recommends not carrying a visible wallet if possible, since thieves target cell phones and personal bags.
Robberies overall were up 18 percent citywide, according to city data.
“From January 3rd to January 23rd, we saw this upward trend. We had 14 robberies in and around that concentrated area,” Seymer-Tabaska said.
She hopes that with the saturation of patrols in these hotspots and situational awareness bulletins located at those locations, robberies will decrease.
