MILWAUKEE — A major rise in car break-ins has the community asking for answers. On Friday, Milwaukee city leaders addressed what is being done to fix the rise in crime.

In the last month alone, the city has seen a 30% jump in car break-ins — and that’s only counting the incidents that have been reported to police.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson, alongside representatives from MPD and the Common Council, came to the table to address the issue.

Officials are asking for residents to report any and all crimes they see and to be careful storing their belongings in their cars.

“I’m going to call on strict accountability, strict accountability on those criminal actions,” said Mayor Johnson.

The mayor emphasized that residents, specifically, should not leave any firearms inside vehicles.

Watch: City leaders address rising rate of carjackings, break-ins in Milwaukee

City leaders address car-related crimes

“If you are a gun owner, do not leave your gun in the car. Thieves are often looking for weapons to steal and then go and perpetuate crimes in other parts of the city.”

Milwaukee Police Inspector, David Feldmeier, says MPD is allocating more resources to address the crime concerns in the city.

“We are following up on several leads in the downtown area on carjacking, and auto thefts and we are constantly looking for more information.”

Feldmeier said most reports are of groups of teens breaking into these cars.

Common Council President Jose Perez called for changes in the juvenile justice system to keep young people from repeating the same crimes over and over again.

“We have to create a better accountability method for all the entities— probation, parole, the court system,” said Perez. “Everyone involved, we gotta step it up and we gotta do something differently. It can’t be business as usual because that’s gotten us to the point that we’re at now.”

According to MPD, there were 24 arrests for entry to locked vehicles and 135 arrests for carjacking from January 1, 2024, to August 15, 2024.

There were 267 carjackings and 2,047 entries to autos from January 1 to August 15 in 2023, compared to 337 carjackings and 1,878 entries to autos in 2024 during the same period.

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MILWAUKEE (WLS) — Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance is campaigning Friday in Milwaukee.

Sen. Vance is delivering his remarks to the Milwaukee Police Association, and is, appropriately, expected to focus on law enforcement, with the Republican campaign set on continuing to paint Democratic-led cities as violent, dangerous places to live.

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The event itself is closed to the public, with only about 60 people in attendance inside the police hall, including law enforcement and their families and a handful of public officials.

This is Vance’s second visit to Wisconsin this month.

The Republican vice presidential candidate was in Eau Claire on Aug. 7.

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Wisconsin is one of the key battleground states that both parties will be heavily courting over the next three months.

And, in fact, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, are scheduled to be in Milwaukee on Tuesday, as they make their way to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.

The president of the Milwaukee Police Association said the Trump campaign reached out to them about two weeks ago, saying they were looking forward to hearing their concerns, which, much like those of CPD, surround retention and recruitment issues, at a time when the city is still coming down from its COVID-era highs, as it relates to crime.

“We want to know that we’re being supported, and, that obviously, back the blue, that people have our backs, because we are the ones that have the community’s back, you know,” Alexander Ayala said. “Know that police work, by its nature, is not always pretty, but it’s necessary, and people that hurt the most are the community when they don’t have enough police to answer those calls.”

Milwaukee police will have a role to play during the DNC next week.

The police association president said a contingent of around 100 of their officers will be heading down to Chicago help out, as needed.

The Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers meet Friday in MLB game 1 action at American Family Field. Here’s a Milwaukee Brewers vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction. This article will include a Milwaukee Brewers vs Cleveland Guardians Pick.

Cleveland Guardians Betting Preview

The Cleveland Guardians are 72-49 on the year after playing the Twins and Cubs. The Cleveland Guardians have scored 17 runs in their last 3 games and 3 or fewer runs in 6 of their last 9 games. The Cleveland Guardians have lost 4 of their last 6 games when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Jose Ramirez leads the Cleveland Guardians with 131 hits and 98 RBI, while Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez have combined for 234 hits and 86 RBI.

Milwaukee Brewers Betting Preview

The Milwaukee Brewers are 69-52 on the year after playing the Reds and Dodgers. The Milwaukee Brewers have scored 13 runs in their last 3 games and 4 or more runs in 5 of their last 9 games. The Milwaukee Brewers have won 6 straight games when scoring 4 or more runs. William Contreras leads the Milwaukee Brewers with 133 hits and 70 RBI, while Willy Adames and Brice Turang have combined for 223 hits and 130 RBI.

Cleveland Guardians vs Milwaukee Brewers Pitching Pick Matchup

Gavin Williams gets the ball for the Cleveland Guardians, and he is 2-4 with a 4.38 ERA and 42 strikeouts this season. Williams has allowed 12 hits and 7 runs in his last 10 innings. Williams has a 0.84 ERA and .167 allowed batting average in 21.1 road innings. This will be Williams’ first career game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Aaron Civale gets the ball for the Milwaukee Brewers, and he is 3-8 with a 5.02 ERA and 113 strikeouts this season. Civale has allowed 12 hits and 7 runs in his last 10.1 innings. Civale has a 3.78 ERA and .251 allowed batting average in 66.2 home innings. This will be Civale’s second career game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Why the Milwaukee Brewers will Beat the Guardians

• The Brewers have won each of their last six games as underdogs following a win.
• The Guardians have lost four of their last five games as road favorites against National League opponents following a win.
• The Brewers have covered the run line in each of their last 10 games as underdogs following a win.
• The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in each of their last nine Friday games against NL Central opponents.
• The Guardians have lost the first inning in each of their last three road games against NL Central opponents.
• The Brewers have led after 5 innings in each of their last six games against the Guardians.
• The Brewers have led after 3 innings in each of their last five games against the Guardians.

Milwaukee Brewers vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction

The Cleveland Guardians are still extremely profitable for MLB bettors, but this second half hasn’t been great, and the offense continues to struggle. The Milwaukee Brewers have played good ball over the last week or so, and there’s value with them at home and the cheap price. Aaron Civale needs to get his act together, but you’d think things will come together at some point. Civale is too talented of a pitcher to continue to give up crooked numbers. Give me the Brewers in this near pick em spot at home.