Wauwatosa crime is on the increase as motor vehicle theft and gunfire cases are spiking in the City of Wauwatosa, according to police statistics obtained by Wisconsin Right Now through an open records request.

Motor vehicle theft is up a whopping 606% from 15 to 106 so far this year, when compared to the same time frame in 2020. There were 96 motor vehicle thefts for the entire year in 2020 and 66 in 2019, so the city has already surpassed last year’s totals, and it’s only May.

The City of Wauwatosa is also on pace to surpass last year’s totals for shots fired and shooting calls, according to data provided to Wisconsin Right Now through an open records request. The Wauwatosa crime trends mirror what’s happening in Milwaukee, where car thefts have jumped 182% and crime is up 43%.

A Facebook post by the Wauwatosa Police Department on recent Wauwatosa crimes caught our attention, so we submitted an open records request and asked for crime information for the city compared to the same time period last year.

Here are the statistics for 2021 through May 11 when compared to the same time frame last year: Case Compare by Class YTD.

See Wauwatosa crime statistics for the full years of 2020 and 2019 here: Case Compare by Class 2019-2020

The city provided a chart showing that there have been 12 shots fired or shooting calls year to date through May 11, 2021. That compares to five for the same time frame in 2020.

Overall, there were 16 such calls for the entire year of 2020, and only six in 2019. One of the calls was self-inflicted and most were “discharge only” in 2021, according to police records. Here’s the data on shootings that we received from Tosa police.

Wauwatosa Crime

We also obtained Wauwatosa crime information in other categories and learned that through May 11, 2021, when compared to the same time frame last year, the following categories handled by Wauwatosa police are seeing an increase:

• Robbery is up 116% from 6 to 13.
• Weapons cases are up 233% from 6 to 20.
• Sex offenses jumped 200% from 4 to 12.
• Disorderly conduct cases are up 23% from 43 to 53.
• Animal complaints are up 87% from 8 to 15

Other categories on the rise are battery, fraud, vandalism, family offenses, drunk driving, runaways, found/recovered, other violation traffic laws,  property damage/motor vehicle accident, suicide attempt, dead on arrival, and mental observation.

Some categories declined. Those include: homicide (down from 1 to 0), burglary, theft, other assaults, forgery, embezzlement, stolen property, narcotic law violations, all other offenses, “suspicious,” lost or missing, traffic violation reported.

On May 10, Wauwatosa Police wrote this in a Facebook post:

                  Wauwatosa Attempt Homicide Suspect in Custody
Early Saturday morning, around 12:05 AM, Wauwatosa Police responded to the area of N 77 St and W Wisconsin Ave for a report of shots fired following a motor vehicle crash. No injuries were reported; a suspect was identified as the victim’s ex-boyfriend. Officers determined that while the victim was driving home from work, a Chevrolet SUV quickly approached the victim and stopped in front of her. The SUV then backed into the victim, causing significant damage to both vehicles. The driver of the SUV then fired a handgun several times at the victim, breaking glass and striking her vehicle.

The SUV then drove away from the scene and the victim reported the incident to law enforcement. This afternoon, at approximately 12:43 PM, Wauwatosa Police took one suspect into custody without incident. The investigation is continuing; this case will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. This was a targeted attack and there is no threat to the public.

If you have any information regarding this case, to include doorbell or surveillance video footage between 11:45 PM on Friday, April 23 and 12:15 AM on Saturday, April 24, from the area of W Wisconsin Ave and N 77 St southbound to W Blue Mound Rd, please contact the Wauwatosa Police Department at 414-471-8430.
The Wauwatosa Police Department would like to thank the officers and investigators for their diligence, quick work and professionalism in taking an attempt-homicide suspect into custody without further violence.