Photo by Tom Jenz
Homicide Detective Jeremiah Jacks
Milwaukee is now in the grip of the worst violence in its modern history. There were 190 killings in 2020, a 93% increase from 2019 and the most ever recorded. According to the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, more than 1,400 people have been injured in non-fatal shootings since January 2020. So far in 2021, half of murders in Milwaukee remain unsolved.
To understand the issue, I went to Downtown police headquarters and spoke with 45-year-old Detective Jeremiah Jacks, the longest serving detective in the homicide unit of about 30 detectives. He comes across as the opposite of the hyped TV detective—he’s calm, soft-spoken, measured and empathetic with homicide victims. Detective Jacks has an adult son, two adult daughters, and two grown step-children. He is a normal guy with an abnormal job.
What was it like growing up for you? Your neighborhood, your schools, your family.
I was born in Chicago on the north side in a diverse neighborhood. Went to a parochial school. Diverse bunch of kids. My best friend was Korean, second-best friend was Filipino, other friends were Pakistani and Colombian. In my freshman year of high school, my family moved up to Milwaukee into the Riverwest neighborhood. We lived on Booth and Auer Streets. In 1990, I went to Milwaukee Tech High School on the South Side. Took the city bus every day. At Tech, there was some diversity among the students, but the ethnic groups kind kept to themselves, Whites, Blacks and Latin X, mostly.
What was your Riverwest neighborhood like in the 1990s? Were there gangs? Was there a criminal element?
There was little gang activity east of Holton toward the lake. The gangs hung out west of Holton. Gangs I remember were the Eastside Mafioso, Eastside Gangsters and Vice Lords. I was never a member of a gang, but I did have friends who were gang members. I was brought up to believe you should be friends with everybody. I had friends all over the city, South Side, West Side, North Side. I rode the bus to meet them. But as a young Black man, I was wary of contact with the police because being Black you were stopped a lot more than white men. I did get stopped by the police numerous times, but they all were positive experiences. This actually helped me decide I wanted to become a policeman.
What did you do after high school? Did you go into the police academy?
After high school, I tried to join the police department as a police aide, but I didn’t show up for my interview on the right day, and I had to wait until I was 21 to apply. I took classes at MATC but I also did security and private investigations and worked at Target in security. When I turned 21, I applied to become a police officer. Was hired in 1999.
What was your job when you started out as a police officer?
I was a uniform officer, assigned the late shift or early shift. We worked the streets, patrolled our areas. I worked out of District 4, Northwest Side. Then, I was transferred to the Downtown jail, doing intake of prisoners.
What were the streets like in the early 2000s? Did you encounter violence, robberies, assaults, criminal activity?
Twenty years ago, the streets were not as violent as today, but people did get shot, and there were robberies. Back then, people responded to police differently. Juveniles had a lot more respect for police, respected the process. For example, if there was a gang fight and the police showed up, gang members naturally just walked away. They did not want to confront the police.
What process did you go through to become a homicide detective?
After my jail duty, I applied to the Sensitive Crimes Division where I investigated crimes against children, crimes against women, sexual assault and domestic violence issues. We would respond to these sensitive crimes after the first police officers on the scene notified us. In a couple years, I took the test to become a detective, and I got promoted to the position of detective in 2005. In 2006, I was assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit as a homicide detective. I’ve been a homicide detective for 15 years, the most experienced homicide detective in our unit.
Can you describe your job responsibilities as a homicide detective, the challenges?
If a resident calls about a homicide, the first responders are the policemen and the fire department who confirm a suspicious death. Then we get notified. At the crime scene, we first gather information from the police officers, victim names, witnesses, determine how big is the scene. This process gives us an assessment of what needs to be done. We then interview family members, witnesses, collect evidence and investigate medical issues. Did the victim die right away or was he taken to a hospital before he died?
What are you looking for at a homicide scene?
First, we make sure the scene is secured. Then, we gather all the evidence we can, DNA, clues, photographs, interviews of witnesses. Sometimes, citizens are reluctant to talk because neighbors or family are around. We might take them down the block to talk in private. The main thing is to get to those witnesses and document their statements to find out why the crime happened. Back at headquarters, we package evidence to send to the crime lab, write reports, obtain additional DNA swabs and test fire firearms. Slowly, we build a case file. Later, the lead detective will appear at a court hearing to ID the suspect, produce witnesses and explain the case.
I spend a fair amount of time in the inner city. In getting to know Black residents and street leaders, I’ve found about this thing called the “no snitch rule,” don’t rat on another person. But that results in confusion. Residents want to be protected by the police but they don’t trust the police. It’s a big irony.
Yes, I do notice that behavior, there is that issue. It’s always frustrating. But first let me define what it means to be a snitch. If Person A and Person B agree to steal jeans from a store, and Person A gets caught and tells on Person B, that is snitching because A and B did the robbery together. But if someone shoots up your house or shoots a neighborhood resident, you did not agree to have that happen. You do not owe any obligation to the shooter. You should be a witness. You are not a snitch.
But yet you as a detective still have trouble getting people to reveal themselves as witnesses, right?
Yes, that’s true. Unfortunately, sometimes a witness may have a similar lifestyle to the perpetrator. The witness wants something done but doesn’t want someone else to tell on him when he’s done something illegal. It becomes a never ending circle.
How many detectives cover a homicide scene?
Depends on the size of the crime scene. But there is always more than one detective on the scene. And there are always detectives working on a case whether it is my assignment or someone else’s. We approach every homicide as a team effort.
[The approximately 30 homicide detectives in the Milwaukee Police Department all work out of the Downtown office but cover the entire city. They sometimes assist an area police force who might be understaffed. Initially, there are two or three homicide detectives assigned to a case, but the entire unit works on that homicide case 24 hours a day, all shifts.]
I find there is kind of a misunderstanding by the public about police work. The public is not very well informed as to police behavior. What can you tell the readers about what a homicide detective does and the pressure you deal with on a day-to-day basis?
We see the worst of the worst in people. We’re responsible for apprehending the person who’s responsible for committing the most egregious crime, the taking of a life. Our goal is to bring closure to a family who has lost a loved one to tragedy. To do this, we need help from the public in finding suspects. We are a tool of the public. We are there to keep the community safe. We gather all the information and witnesses, present it to the D.A. who then issues charges and then goes through the court process.
I study the weekly crime statistics and find that many of the homicides are not solved and that police are still seeking suspects. The clearance rate of homicide cases solved in 2019 was 77%. In 2020, it went down to 55%, and in 2021, it’s at 46%.
For unsolved crimes, do you still continue to work on those homicides? For example, a couple times I’ve attended Mothers For Justice United in Washington Park, an event that honors Black moms who have lost their sons to murder. Many of these homicides have gone unsolved. I’ve had moms tell me they phone the police to get updates on the murder investigations but don’t get cooperation. Is there work being done on these old cases?
My partner and I are the cold case detectives for the city, although we also work on current homicides. We handle those phone calls you are referring to. Our clearance rates have fallen over this past year but homicides have also increased. In the past, we’ve had clearance rates in the 70 percent tiles. But last year, we had a major increase in homicides, and this year, homicides are on pace to match last year. But we are always working on cases.
When we get a call from family members, we check if we could do anything more to investigate, but we can’t have a conversation about what we’ve done. I can’t tell the mothers specifics because we need to keep the investigations confidential. If I give out too much information, the family members might tell other people, and that might mess up the cases.
Is there a percentage of cold cases you solve? Do you solve a lot of cold cases?
We work on cases that are at least five years old, and we have solved come cold cases. But in the last year, there were so many homicides, it is hard to keep up with the cold cases.
Every day, you deal with the dark side of human behavior. How does this affect you emotionally? On your time off, can you block the traumatic experiences out of your mind?
That is a very good question. When I walk out of the police station, I try not to focus on what’s happened at work. I try to be present with my life at home, family, kids, friends, other interests. I do need to block the work out of my mind because if I thought about it 24 hours a day, I’d drive myself crazy. I try to focus on the positive things in my personal life.
You’ve been in this homicide work for 15 years every day. Why do you keep doing it? What’s the attraction?
I do like those days when I’m in court, and the jury returns with a guilty verdict. That’s the reward. Being able to give that grieving family closure.
[There were 97 homicides in 2019. The homicides unit cleared over 97 homicides in 2020 which was more than the total of number of homicides in 2019.]
Over the years, Milwaukee has moved toward two societies, one Black and one white. Protests and racism have deepened the division. In the central city, segregation and poverty have created a destructive environment that includes murders and shootings. In your view, what needs to happen to heal the central city?
I’ve answered this question before … from my neighbors, from politicians, from Black men at the barbershop. In the central city, too many people do not have jobs, education or opportunities that other people have. So, what can heal the central city? I think you have to start with education, especially when the children are young. You might be dealing with under-educated families who can’t help their children with homework. Or their fathers aren’t around. Too many teens commit minor crimes, end up in court and maybe in juvenile detention. That will affect the young man for the rest of his life. He can’t get into the military or be a security guard or hold many different jobs open to him if he was a felon.
I think the key is having mentors to help kids when they are very young, seven, eight, 10 years old, before they get into trouble as teens. The system has kind of broken down for Black kids in the central city. Let’s take mothers who have lost their sons to violence. I wish these mothers could go into the public schools and talk about their pain. Losing a child through violence is horrendous.
I get the sense that there is this groundswell of angry feelings among many young Black men in the central city. It’s like this fog of anger that settles over the streets.
Those young men are angry because they don’t have the things you see other people having on TV, on social media. They’re angry because their dads might be in prison or they don’t know their dad. Or their mom is struggling to make it. That’s why we need mentors. Some of the best mentors are those men who have made mistakes as young men but have overcome their backgrounds to do good. Ideally, it would be good if our youth could channel their anger into something positive.
