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What the '10 Most Wanted' List Means

You can't help but notice one striking trend in Milwaukee's Top 10 Most Wanted list for the month of April: Seven of the 10 "most wanted" suspected criminals are Hispanic.

Topping that list of ill repute is Christian Daniel Acosta, 27, wanted by police for first-degree intentional homicide. Second on the list is Fidencio Castillo, 25, wanted for first-degree recklessly endangering safety. There's also Andrés Hernández-Cruz, 36, who's accused of violating a domestic abuse restraining order and arson of a building; Octaviano Juarez-Corro, 35, two counts of first-degree homicide; and Ramón Ramírez, 23, first-degree intentional homicide.

The list goes on. All are men under 36, most have already been in jail, and all are wanted for serious felonies that also include battery and the sexual assault of children.

While these men are believed to have committed heinous acts, an uncomfortable question arises: Does that fact that seven of the 10 men identified are Hispanic mean that Latinos are committing more violent crimes than others in Milwaukee? The answer, according to Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, is no.

"It's not that they [Latinos] are more violent," Chisholm told ¡Aquí! Milwaukee. "It has to do with their ability to flee jurisdiction...that's all it comes down to."

Chisholm clarified that there are more Latinos on the most-wanted list "because the offender has ties to another state or country," Chisholm says. "Hence, they have the ability to flee."

African American men were disproportionately the aggressors - and also disproportionately the victims - in violent crimes, such as the 105 homicides that took place in Milwaukee last year, Chisholm says.

Between 2005 and 2006, about 72 percent of Milwaukee's murder suspects were black, while nearly 70 percent of victims were also black, according to a 2007 report from the Milwaukee Homicide Commission. Meanwhile, 8 percent of murder suspects were Hispanic, while 12 percent of victims were also Hispanic.

Reducing the homicide rate in Milwaukee has become a big priority for city leaders, and they've pointed out repeatedly that in the vast majority of Milwaukee's homicides, guns were involved.

Chisholm - who prosecuted 80 gun-related cases last year - says that most Latinos who engage in gun-related crimes are affiliated with local gangs. Indeed, many of the Hispanics on the Top 10 Most Wanted list are suspected gang members.

Chisholm believes the city's gun violence - and therefore its murder rate - can be reduced. How? He believes citizens need to  build partnerships with the police, schools and churches to help identify problem individuals to authorities.

However, a big impediment to that type of cooperation in communities like the south side is that many people are undocumented and won't cooperate with police for fear of deportation.

To view Milwaukee's Top 10 Most Wanted list, visit www.milwaukee.gov/police. To learn about Milwaukee's anti-crime initiative, visit www.onemilwaukee.org. If you have any information about someone on the Top 10 list Most Wanted, call the Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7302.

JAIL STATS

1. Four of every 100 Latino males 25-29 years are in prison.

2. There are more Latinos in jail today than in college dormitories.

3. It costs $30,000 a year on average to house a prisoner in a minimum security prison.

4. Four of every 10 released prisoners are convicted of a new offense within 3 years.

5. Nine of every 10 murderers in Milwaukee have spent time in jail.

Sources:
1. www.prisonsucks.com
2. U.S. Census Bureau
3. U.S. Dept. of Justice
4. La Follete School of Public Affairs
5. Milwaukee Homicide Commission