Milwaukee, WI
Nuisance properties in Milwaukee, police to review monthly call data
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Police Department says it will do monthly reviews of call data to identify nuisance properties.
It follows efforts by a local group that says thousands of properties should have been cited under the city’s nuisance ordinance.
Chronic nuisance property ordinance
What we know:
The ordinance was created in 2001 to address nuisance properties in the city, and the impact they can have on quality of life.
But in recent years, the ordinance has been used less and less.
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It was one of the issues before the steering and rules committee on Monday, June 8, after a push by local group Common Ground.
Milwaukee Common Council Steering and Rules Committee
It was already working on crunching the numbers when federal prosecutors charged one of the largest landlords on the city’s south side, and others, with allegedly running a drug trafficking enterprise through rental properties.
Ultimately, Common Ground says thousands of properties across the city should have been declared a nuisance, but weren’t.
A nuisance premises can be cited if it reaches certain thresholds of calls for service within a period of time and the calls are substantiated.
Milwaukee Common Council Steering and Rules Committee
And if the problem isn’t addressed, it could result in fines.
On Monday, Milwaukee police said it’s a process that takes time, but says it’s changing its procedures and reviewing calls for service each month.
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What they’re saying:
“We’re also doing a deeper dive into that data analysis, requiring all of our district captains to address any, to review those properties and if they choose not to ‘nuisance’ the property that is eligible to be ‘nuisanced,’ why not,” said Milwaukee Police Department Chief of Staff Heather Hough.
It’s important to note that Milwaukee alders urged the importance of residents calling police about nuisance properties, so there is a record to look back on for if or when a property falls under that nuisance ordinance.
The Source: FOX6 attended the Milwaukee Common Council’s Steering and Rules Committee to produce this story.