THESE ARE THE CUP HOLDERS THAT HAD ABOUT THIS. MUCH OF THEIR ASHES IN IT. A CAR IS A LIFELINE FOR LESLIE NAVA. THIS IS MY WHOLE LIFE. I NEED SOMEBODY TO GET THIS BACK. LIKE IT GETS MY KIDS TO SCHOOL. IT’S MY JOB THAT LIFELINE NOW BACK IN HER POSSESSION, STOLEN FROM HER WHILE USING IT TO DELIVER FOR AMAZON IN DOWNTOWN MILWAUKEE. THE CAR TAKES DAMAGED AND GONE FOR DAYS. THEY FOUND A CONDOM WRAPPER OVER IN THIS CORNER IN THE BACK. WHILE IT WAS GONE, NAVA WENT LOOKING FOR IT, TRACKING THE CRIMINALS, TRYING TO USE HER LOCKED CREDIT CARDS. I HIT EVERY GAS STATION IN THAT GENERAL AREA. A FEW DAYS LATER, POLICE SPOTTED HER CAR. THEY FLIPPED ON THEIR LIGHTS AND CHASED IT BECAUSE THEY SAW THE YELLOW T ON THE WINDSHIELD. POLICE ARRESTED A 24 YEAR OLD MAN AND A 21 YEAR OLD WOMAN. ALSO STOLEN RECENTLY, LAUREN FERNANDEZ IS ALFA ROMEO SUV TAKEN OFF OF WATER STREET IN THE THIRD WARD, RECOVERED AFTER SHE SAYS THE THIEF WAS CHASED BY POLICE OFFICER YOUNG HERE. I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HE RETRIEVED MY VEHICLE. IT WAS JUST REALLY KIND OF LIKE UPSETTING TO KNOW THAT SOMEBODY WOULD TAKE SOMETHING SO PERSONAL FROM YOU AND MISTREAT IT LIKE THAT. POLICE HAVE NOT MADE AN ARREST IN FERNANDEZ CASE, AND SHE’S NOT ALONE. OF THE NEARLY 5000 CARS STOLEN SO FAR IN 2023, MILWAUKEE POLICE HAVE SOLVED 4% OF THEM IN 2022. THAT NUMBER WAS 6%. 2.5% IN 2021 AND 2% IN 2020. IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, 31,574 CARS HAVE BEEN STOLEN IN MILWAUKEE AND 1183 OF THEM ARE SOLVED. 3.7% OF CASES. MILWAUKEE POLICE DECLINED MULTIPLE REQUESTS TO TALK ABOUT THIS TOPIC, POINTING TO A SEPTEMBER COMMITTEE HEARING ADDRESSING THE ISSUE. ALDERWOMAN MILELE A. COGGS ASKED THE QUESTION. WE WOULD HAVE ASKED POLICE WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE LOW CLEARANCE RATE TO? I’M CONCERNED THAT WE’RE STILL HAVING ADMINISTRATIVE DIFFICULTIES AND CHALLENGES, SO WE GOT TO DIG INTO THAT, MAKE SURE THAT OUR SYSTEM IS ACCURATELY CAPTURING WHAT WE’RE DOING, AND THEN THE SHEER VOLUME. POLICE TOLD THE COMMITTEE THEY’VE ARRESTED AS OF SEPTEMBER SEVENTH. THE MILWAUKEE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS MADE 612 ARRESTS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT. BUT THE NUMBER OF CASES CLEARED IS MUCH LOWER. MILWAUKEE POLICE CLEARED 205 CASES OF FORT HOWARD 990 AS OF OCTOBER 24TH. A CASE IS TYPICALLY CLEARED WHEN ARREST IS MADE. POLICE TOLD 12 NEWS IN AN EMAIL. MULTIPLE ARRESTS CAN BE MADE FOR ONE CASE. WE TRIPLED OUR CLEARANCE RATE SINCE 2020 AND THAT MAY SEEM INSIGNIFICANT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IN OUR CITY, WHEN YOU’RE DEALING WITH THE VOLUMINOUS AMOUNT OF AUTO THEFTS THAT WE HAD, THAT’S WE’RE TALKING THOUSANDS OF MORE CLEARANCES THERE. BUT THE NUMBERS OBTAINED BY 12 NEWS SHOW POLICE HAVE CLEARED ABOUT 100 MORE CASES SO FAR IN 2023 THAN THEY DID IN ALL OF 2020. VICTIMS OF CAR THEFT WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS IMPROVE. IT’S ACTUALLY SAD BECAUSE IF THERE’S ONLY 4% THAT ARE ARRESTED AND ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THEM, HOW ARE THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LEARN THEIR LESSON AND STOP DOING THIS? STILL, OIL STEALING LIFELINES FROM PEOPLE WHO NEED THEM. THE SAD THING IS THEY KEEP DOING IT BECAUSE THEY CAN. JAMES THE NUMBERS ARE LOW, EVEN AS THE NUMBER OF CAR THEFTS DROPS DID POLICE EXPLAIN WHAT THEY’RE DOING TO TRY TO STOP THE PROBLEM? THEY TOLD THE COMMON COUNCIL THAT THEY’RE ADDING MORE STAFFING, CALLED THE MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT TASK FORCE, ADDING THAT THEY’RE FOLLOWING UP ON SOME OF THE FINGERPRINTS THAT THEY FIND SOME OF THE SAME FINGERPRINTS ON DOZENS OF VEHICLES AS TO HELP MAKE MORE ARRESTS AND SOLV
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Thousands of car thefts go unsolved in Milwaukee, 2023 clearance rate at 4%
Of the 4,990 cases of stolen cars in so far in2023, 205 cases resulted in an arrest.
Updated: 10:30 PM CST Nov 16, 2023
A car is a lifeline for Leslie Norava. That lifeline is now back in her possession after it was stolen while she was delivering packages for Amazon in downtown Milwaukee. Her red Ford Edge was stolen, damaged and gone for days.”Found a condom wrapper over in this corner in the back,” she said as she walked around her car. “They had colored blue nail polish over most of the seats.”While it was gone, Norava went looking for it, tracking the criminals using her locked credit cards. “I hit every gas station,” she said. A few days later, police spotted her car. “They flipped the lights on and chased it because they saw the yellow T on the windshield,” she said.Police arrested a 24-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman in her stolen car case.Also stolen recently, Lauren Fernandez’s Alpha Romeo SUV, taken from Water Street in the Third Ward. Recovered, after she says the thief was chased by police.”It was really kind of upsetting to know that somebody will take something so personal from you and mistreat it like that,” she said.Police have not made an arrest in her case.In fact, of the 4,990 cars stolen in 2023 (as of Oct. 24) 205 cases resulted in an arrest, roughly 4%. In 2022, 8,099 cars were stolen resulting in 493 arrests, a 6% clearance rate. In 2021, 10,483 cars were stolen, and 271 resulted in an arrest, 2.5%. In 2020, 4,058 cars were stolen, 97 cleared, 2%. Finally, in 2019, 3,494 cars were stolen, 117 are cleared, 3.3% cleared. Since 2019, 31,574 cases have been filed for stolen cars, and police have cleared 1,183 cases. Milwaukee police declined multiple requests for an interview on the topic, but they did point to a September committee meeting for the Public Safety and Health Committee for Milwaukee Common Council, where police addressed the issue. Alderwoman Milele Coggs asked the question that 12 News Investigates would have asked police.”What do you attribute the low clearance rate to?” she asked. “I’m concerned we’re still having administrative difficulties and challenges,” Assistant Chief Paul Formolo, who police say has now retired, told the committee. “We gotta make sure our math and system is accurately catching what we’re doing, and just shear volume.”As of Sept. 7, during the committee meeting, police said they arrested 612 people for motor vehicle theft. However, the number of cases cleared is much lower. A case is typically cleared when an arrest is made. Police told 12 News, in an email, multiple arrests can be made for one case.Police also told the committee they added more manpower to address the problem, called the “motor vehicle task force.” Formolo added the team is following up on fingerprints found to make more arrests.”The sad thing is they keep doing it because they can,” Norava said.
A car is a lifeline for Leslie Norava. That lifeline is now back in her possession after it was stolen while she was delivering packages for Amazon in downtown Milwaukee. Her red Ford Edge was stolen, damaged and gone for days.
“Found a condom wrapper over in this corner in the back,” she said as she walked around her car. “They had colored blue nail polish over most of the seats.”
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While it was gone, Norava went looking for it, tracking the criminals using her locked credit cards.
“I hit every gas station,” she said.
A few days later, police spotted her car.
“They flipped the lights on and chased it because they saw the yellow T on the windshield,” she said.
Police arrested a 24-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman in her stolen car case.
Also stolen recently, Lauren Fernandez’s Alpha Romeo SUV, taken from Water Street in the Third Ward. Recovered, after she says the thief was chased by police.
“It was really kind of upsetting to know that somebody will take something so personal from you and mistreat it like that,” she said.
Police have not made an arrest in her case.
In fact, of the 4,990 cars stolen in 2023 (as of Oct. 24) 205 cases resulted in an arrest, roughly 4%. In 2022, 8,099 cars were stolen resulting in 493 arrests, a 6% clearance rate. In 2021, 10,483 cars were stolen, and 271 resulted in an arrest, 2.5%. In 2020, 4,058 cars were stolen, 97 cleared, 2%. Finally, in 2019, 3,494 cars were stolen, 117 are cleared, 3.3% cleared. Since 2019, 31,574 cases have been filed for stolen cars, and police have cleared 1,183 cases.
Milwaukee police declined multiple requests for an interview on the topic, but they did point to a September committee meeting for the Public Safety and Health Committee for Milwaukee Common Council, where police addressed the issue.
Alderwoman Milele Coggs asked the question that 12 News Investigates would have asked police.
“What do you attribute the low clearance rate to?” she asked.
“I’m concerned we’re still having administrative difficulties and challenges,” Assistant Chief Paul Formolo, who police say has now retired, told the committee. “We gotta make sure our math and system is accurately catching what we’re doing, and just shear volume.”
As of Sept. 7, during the committee meeting, police said they arrested 612 people for motor vehicle theft. However, the number of cases cleared is much lower. A case is typically cleared when an arrest is made. Police told 12 News, in an email, multiple arrests can be made for one case.
Police also told the committee they added more manpower to address the problem, called the “motor vehicle task force.” Formolo added the team is following up on fingerprints found to make more arrests.
“The sad thing is they keep doing it because they can,” Norava said.