Milwaukee lawmakers introduced a measure last week that will more accurately reflect the true crime rate in Milwaukee. They say people have a misconception that an average citizen in the Milwaukee is in danger of being killed in random acts of violence. However, city officials have been arguing for years that most city of Milwaukee murder victims probably deserved it,

and that people should not be afraid of certain neighborhoods or malls based merely on a few “unfortunate situations propagated on criminals who later became victims, and then whose family members become criminals to avenge the victimization of a criminal,” said the official report from City Hall.

Milwaukee had 105 murders in 2007, and it has been in or near the top ten for murder rate over the last twenty years. But the Common Council has stated that though Milwaukee fairs poorly when compared to similar-sized cities such as Seattle, Portland, Austin, and San Diego, if murders of criminals were to be devalued in the rate, Milwaukee’s image would recover.

“When a police officer kills a suspect in the line of duty, this is not considered murder,” said John Vantillo, a Milwaukee Police Department spokesman. While this fact might seem obvious, the city argues its principles should be used for all murders. Statistics show that 85% of middle-class or higher Americans feel that when a person is killed by a police officer, that person probably deserved it. In related statistics, if the same people see a news story about a gang member, drug dealer, father of six by the age of 21, crack whore, or minority youth getting murdered, those people believe the murder victim probably deserved it at about the same rate.

 What this means is that most Americans can accept murder or death if it has been earned by the victim, and therefore, cities would not suffer high murder rates based on deserved killings. While the criteria for declaring a PDI (Probably Deserved It) killing is still a bit unclear, the general idea is that some authority would decide whether or not the killing was deserved and then it would be stricken from the murder rate.

For example, a recent killing of two men and two women in a gang-related shooting resulted in four murders added to Milwaukee’s homicide rate. However, at least two of the victims were known gang members and had been incarcerated, which to many translates into them probably deserving it. That would cut the deadly shooting into two murders and two PDIs.

If the recalculated murder rate is successful, the city plans to do the same for other crimes, such as theft. “If someone is driving around a neighborhood where the average household income is $20,000 in a $60,000 Escalade with $5000 rims, that’s a PDI carjacking waiting to happen,” said Vantillo. “Especially if the driver sells drugs or is some kind of a pimp, and not just a lawyer who turned the wrong direction on Walnut because of the Marquette Interchange construction.”

Milwaukee hopes to rewrite its public image with the new twist on crime reporting , and the city hopes to be seen as a safe town for those who deserve to be safe. Maybe someday young people in trouble will hear arresting officers tell them they don’t want to become a PDI because statistics will only be for those who count.