On the day the mayor signed into law a bill addressing reckless driving, Milwaukee officials held a town hall on Nov. 4 to share how they’ve combatted the crisis in recent years.
Gov. Tony Evers signed bipartisan legislation last week addressing reckless driving, which allowed for local officials to pass ordinances. The Milwaukee Common Council passed its reckless driving bill on Nov. 4, and Mayor Cavalier Johnson shared at the town hall that he has signed the legislation.
The laws expand on prior legislation by increasing penalties for offenders and allowing vehicles to be towed for reckless driving.
City Attorney Evan Goyke told the crowd inside the auditorium at Milwaukee Public Schools district office that drivers who think a reckless driving citation will be pled down to a speeding ticket are wrong.
“We’re gonna convict you of the charge,” Goyke said. “We’re gonna take it to trial.”
Reckless driving offenses can result in a citation in municipal court or a criminal charge in county circuit court. The burden of proof is lower in municipal court.
Goyke said his office has reduced the number of reckless driving cases being pled down or dismissed to nearly 0%. His office has just over 600 reckless driving cases a year. In 2023, only about 33% led to a conviction, and that percentage is now closer to 90%, he said.
Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern said Nov. 4 that his office issues a fleeing charge on about 900 reckless drivers a year. Sometimes charges of recklessly endangering safety or vehicle theft can be added, he said.
“I think it’s fair to say that we take the driving piece very seriously in this community,” the district attorney said. “We ought to recommend some amount of up front incarceration in every one of these cases. That could mean jail, that could mean prison.”
The district attorney’s office does have a continual issue of charges being dropped because many witnesses refuse to cooperate with officials, Lovern said. “I need you to come to court,” he said.
Lovern reminded the audience that it’s not his job to sentence offenders. That responsibility lies with a judge. The mayor was a little more direct.
“Any person who commits an act of death, harm, or destruction should be held to account,” Johnson said, “and I’m asking judges in this community or anybody who has a responsibility for prosecution to make sure that happens.”
Reckless drivers measures are working, mayor says
When Johnson became mayor in December 2021, one of the first items of business was declaring reckless driving a public safety crisis. Since 2012, Milwaukee experienced historic levels of death and destruction caused by reckless driving. But in recent years, some progress has been made.
There has been a reduction in the number of people who died in crashes in Milwaukee. In 2023, 77 people died in crashes. Last year, 67 people died. And through Nov. 3, 51 people have died in crashes.
Johnson touts the city’s Department of Public Works for instituting engineer changes to streets to make it more difficult to speed. Data shows the changes — speed bumps, raised crosswalks, corner extensions — have resulted in less speeding.
“We’ve worked to prioritize safety on our roadways as opposed to speed,” Johnson said.
Police chief looks for more law enforcement tools
The new law letting police tow more vehicles involved in reckless driving is another tool for the department, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman often said.
Automatically criminally charging repeat offenders is another, he said. Others believe the police pursuit policy needs to be reviewed after several innocent bystanders died following police chases earlier this year. Norman said he wanted to make it clear that the police chases did not cause the deaths. He said he was personally affected by those innocent deaths.
“You don’t think I care about what’s going on these streets,” Norman said. “There is that balancing act of you’re darned if you do, darned if you don’t.”
Norman said the department looked into other alternative policing tools or technologies for pursuits, such as drones and GPS tracking darts. He said he found it often comes with a hefty price tag and bad results.
Johnson said police do call off chases if they get too dangerous. He said they show “restraint.” Lovern added that nearly 100% of reckless driving arrests are the result of some form of a police chase.
Another tool being mentioned is a bill proposed by state Sen. Dora Drake, D-Milwaukee, that would allow traffic and speed cameras to be installed on intersections with high rates of car crashes and automatically cite those who speed at a specified rate. The bill has some opposition, but strong support from city officials.
Officials look to address root causes of reckless driving
Drake said she wants to address the root causes of reckless driving, as well, something every official on the panel agreed with her on. There were no public speakers; instead questions from the public were read aloud nameless.
Johnson said if there were more economic opportunities for young people, then crime would drop even further. “Jobs,” the mayor said. “When people have stability in their own life, when they got something to lose, then they’re less likely to participate in the antisocial behavior.”
Norman often calls on parents to give their children “consequences” for “bad behavior.”
The chief took a tangent at the town hall, railing against young people playing video games.
“I heard a couple of kids … talking about the sixth version of Grand Theft Auto,” Norman said.
“And if anybody ever watched that, you should be disturbed because they take that virtual reality into reality. These are your grandchildren. These are your nieces and nephews and some are young adults. We need to lean in and recognize what’s going on under our noses and that there is some level of accountability saying, not in my house. My kids didn’t play video games.”
Johnson said it’s important that society continue to engage young people. He points to the work being done at the Boys & Girls Clubs, Greater Milwaukee Urban League, YMCA and his own Camp Rise. He said Milwaukee is “resource rich.”
Lovern is hopeful that many of these programs will help deter crime.
“We don’t want to see more people in the system,” Lovern said. “The goal would be fewer people in the system because that indicates fewer people have been hurt in the community.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee officials tout progress, tougher penalties as mayor signs reckless driving bill
Reporting by Drake Bentley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
