Today, Mayor Tom Barrett and Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker joined the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission (MHRC) in releasing its 2015 Annual Report analyzing causes and risk factors behind homicides and non-fatal shootings in the city of Milwaukee.

“After a steady decline in homicides over the last decade, 2015 was a very deadly year for our city and cities across the country,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “To address this, we must work together and use all of the tools available including having quality data to better understand where to target our prevention work.”

“Violence is a public health issue. Like understanding a disease, we must use data and analysis to understand its root causes,” said Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker. “Using the approach of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission provides all partners in violence prevention a detailed look at the contributing factors to last year’s homicides and non-fatal shootings.”

The 2015 analysis provides data on contributing circumstances to homicides and non-fatal shootings, analysis of victim and suspect demographics, and data on socioeconomic status, educational attainment and other factors that influence violence in the city.

“To prevent violence in any community we must look at both data behind the act of violence itself, but also the contributing factors,” said Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission founding director Mallory O’Brien, Ph.D. “Understanding these key indicators can help us come together as a community to work collaboratively and collectively to produce the reduction of violence our community deserves.”

The MHRC, which works with the City of Milwaukee Health Department Office of Violence Prevention, is a component of Milwaukee’s violence prevention efforts and draws on public health and criminal justice partners to better understand and inform the work to reduce violence in Milwaukee.

The report is available at Milwaukee.gov/health.