Violence by the Numbers

• Violence and the Judicial System: Stemming the Tide of Violence in Our Courthouses

A few statistics gleaned from the report of the Commission on Violence and the Justice System:

• From 1975 to 1995 the incidence of violent crime in Wisconsin more than doubled.
• Juvenile arrests for violent crime in Wisconsin increased by nearly 80 percent (from 1,493 to 2,674) between 1985 and 1994.
• Child abuse is 15 times more likely to occur in families where partner abuse is present.
• In Milwaukee County 99 percent of all teenage homicides in 1994 resulted from handgun use.
• It costs Wisconsin $52,000 per year to incarcerate one juvenile offender, and $20,000 per year to incarcerate one adult.
• Projections are that soon the Department of Corrections' budget will be higher than that for higher education in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Lawyer