Violent crime was down 6.8 percent in West Allis in 2009, thanks in part to police investigators, front-line patrol officers and a higher number of neighborhood watch groups.
Do you think crime is a major problem in West Allis, or does the recent drop in incidents mean the problem has been minimized?
Let us know what you think in our forum.
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I have been very pleased with the "new" police administration. The neighborhood meetings, particularly on the east end, have made a difference. It has allowed citizens to address concerns directly to the Chief and for the WAPD to work on remedying those issues which are foremost to residents. Admittedly, it is not prime graffiti season yet, but graffiti has been down and cleaned up promptly when it occurs. I think residents need to express their concerns regarding quality of life to any and all City officials and departments. This includes reporting nuisance properties, activities, etc. The neighborhoods need to take more responsibility for problems in their own area. THe WAPD can't do the job alone.
I don't think violent crimes (murder, rape, etc)are a problem in west allis. There have been a few isolated incidents, but these are not regular happenings from what I have seen/read. It's a shame they happen at all here, though. The police blotter seems to regualrly show alot of theft, drug activity, and domestic violence. Theft has gone up dramatically in the table shown in the main article. I think it would be an overstatement to say that any crime has been minimized(as the sentence posed above states) when the ideal number is Zero. I have read of several examples where the crime committed were not by West Allis residents, but by people from other communities. The 'crime map' linked to by the main article does indicate problem areas, but as a whole, crime is up. The chart shows that the total number of crime is down from last year(by 100), but up by around 900(!) events from 3 years prior. * note to editor: I think there would be alot more discussion here from opinionated readers if this was posted to the Community Voices blog as an entry.