Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee represent the most populated municipalities in Wisconsin, with Milwaukee County leading in the number and rate of homicides and aggravated assaults. The city and the county of Milwaukee have a large proportion of the population experiencing economic hardships, as indicated by many residents living in poverty and without health insurance. These economic challenges are even more concentrated in the focus area. The city, county, and focus area are also more racially and ethnically diverse than the state as a whole.  

In 2019, the age-adjusted homicide rate in Milwaukee County was 13.1 per 100,000 persons, more than three times greater than the Wisconsin rate of 4.1 per 100,000. In addition, the rate of non-fatal assault injury hospitalizations in 2019 was 34.9 per 100,000 persons in Milwaukee County, more than 2.5 times greater than the Wisconsin rate of 12.8 per 100,000. The county has experienced a notable increase in 2020, with 217 deaths ruled as homicides by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. Milwaukee County’s high burden of violence is demonstrated by a 67% increase from 2019 and more than a 50% increase from the 5-year average between 2015-2019, with most incidents occurring in the City of Milwaukee. Milwaukee has also experienced an unprecedented increase in gun violence since early 2020, emphasizing the need for this collaborative within the county. 

The high level of gun violence impacts individuals, families, neighborhoods, and agencies across the realms of public health and safety. Violence within Milwaukee occurs in concentrated geographic areas and neighborhoods, so this initiative focuses on a multi-sector collaborative approach to violence response within identified focus areas. 

Two primary frameworks will be used as the models for the structure of the Milwaukee Violence Response Public Health and Safety Team (VR-PHAST). The first is a coordinated response of a multi-sector, collaborative, dynamic response to violence issues modeled after the Unified Emergency Operations Center (UEOC) model. Milwaukee’s COVID-19 UEOC supported local COVID-19 responses by coordinating between the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), MCW, local health departments, law enforcement, criminal justice and public safety agencies, and other critical partners. This coordination led to near real-time data being shared, analyzed, and quickly developed into data dashboards and visualizations. When the trend of increased violence was identified in 2020, and concerns were raised about the potential for continued violence in 2021, initial discussions focused on creating a similar framework to the UEOC involving communication, collaboration, and data sharing to respond to violence.  

VR-PHAST is also informed by the Public Health and Safety Team Toolkit developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation. This toolkit provides guidance for data-driven response coordination among public health, criminal justice, law enforcement, and first responders. Other local and national models also informed VR-PHAST, and the team is building upon and enhancing collaboration across entities that intersect with violence response and prevention efforts at the local, state, and federal levels.  

The VR-PHAST comprises public health, public safety, and community partners focusing on the policy implications and the implementation of action steps to address and respond to the levels of violence in the community. A Facilitation Team guides the work of organizing meetings and tracking outcomes of VR-PHAST discussions, strategies, and action items. This team is made up of representatives from many key partner agencies and will be staffed by the new team members added through the project funding. A Data Team also supports the process by analyzing data from various sources to understand current and emerging trends in violence and the factors contributing to the increase in violence, as well as the needs and gaps in resources available for response.  

The VR-PHAST has the overall goals to:  

1. Improve Communication and Information Sharing. 

2. Identify Resources and Unmet Needs.  

3. Coordinate an Enhanced Response to Violence. 

Numerous and extensive partners are involved in this initiative at the local, state, and federal levels. The City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Health Department’s Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD), the Milwaukee Community Justice Council (CJC), and the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission (HRC), are some of the agencies receiving direct funding through the project or taking on a direct role with the facilitation team. Numerous community-based organizations, public safety, criminal justice, public health, and related partners are also heavily involved and engaged in the collaborative work of this project.