Milwaukee Homicides Soar – What Is Going On In the Murderous Midwest?

While the recent wave of violence in Milwaukee can be written off as an ephemeral reaction to another fatal police shooting (see “One Person Shot, Officer Injured In Second Night Of Milwaukee Violence Despite State Of Emergency“) it is quite clear that long-term trends suggest that violent crimes are on the rise in metropolitan areas of the Midwest. As can be seen by data compiled by the Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee homicides went vertical in 2015, up 69% YoY and over 100% since the recent low recorded in 2007. In fact, in 2015 Milwaukee endured the highest number of homicides since 1993, a 22-year record high. Similarly disturbing increases in violence are playing out in Chicago neighborhoods as we’ve noted on numerous occasions (see “Chicago Records Deadliest Day In 13 Years As City Spirals Out Of Control” and “Chicago Suffers Deadliest May In 21 Years“).
The key question is why the spike in violence now? Ask any “expert” to explain the cause of violent crime and you’ll get a range of responses from systemic problems of poverty, unemployment, lack of education of inner city youth, breakdown of the family unit, etc. The problem is that none of those things explain the sudden changes in violence we’re currently witnessing in the Midwest.
Thomas Abt, senior research fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, believes the issue is more likely what other political commentators have dubbed “the Ferguson Effect.” Writing for The Marshall Project, Abt discussed what he thought might be causing the sudden spike in violent crimes in the Midwest:

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Aug 16, 2016.