There is a significant difference between the crime levels in Madison and Milwaukee, according to a new report released Monday.
Madison ranked 269 out of 378 cities in a recent nationwide survey of city crime rankings compiled by the political publishing firm Congressional Quarterly. Milwaukee ranked 36th , according to the Associated Press.
George Twigg, a spokesperson for Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, said he would characterize Madison as a safe city for its size.
Twigg said Madison and Milwaukee's rankings differ because the two cities face their own specific challenges.
Madison and Milwaukee are very different cities with very different problems. Crime is clearly a more severe problem over in Milwaukee than here in Madison, and these rankings reflect that,"" Twigg said.
Crime rates have been steady over the last few years in Madison, according to Twigg, though certain areas of the city have higher crime rates than others.
""What we have seen is cause for concern is spikes in crime in specific neighborhoods,"" Twigg said.
The report used six crime categories - murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft - to rank the cities.
One criticism of these rankings is they don't reflect the reasons behind crime. Factors such as education levels, population density and the strength of local law enforcement agencies are not considered in the rankings.
""You don't have to just fight crime. You have to fight crime with people who don't have a job because they dropped out of school,"" said Kenneth Streit, a clinical law professor at UW-Madison Law School. ""Simply punishing people for crimes isn't going to get rid of street gangs and things that tend to be associated with the public's sense of safety.""
CQ said in a statement that there are different reasons for the crimes, but the rates between cities can still be compared accurately.
Streit also said there is a large amount of discretion in how crimes are charged in each state. What may be charged as aggravated assault in one state could be charged as something different in another state, he said.
""Those kind of things do have some discretion, and the public doesn't think of that. The public thinks, 'well it's a totally objective thing,'"" Streit said.
Mission Viejo, Calif. ranked as the safest city in the U.S., and Detroit ranked the most dangerous. Minneapolis and Chicago were not included in the report due to incomplete data.
