The Republican National Convention — where delegates will determine the political party’s presidential candidate, takes place in Milwaukee, WI, on July 15-18, 2024. RNC events are scheduled at the Fiserv Forum, Baird Center, and Panther Arena in downtown Milwaukee with additional events throughout the city starting in the days directly preceding and continuing in the days following the convention.
Milwaukee, a city of about 563,000 residents, expects some 50,000 visitors during the convention, an almost 9% increase in the city’s population. The list includes delegates, media, law enforcement, staff, and additional visitors.
From a crime perspective, large short-term changes in population can bring challenges and change the factors underlying routine activity theory, the lens through which we understand how and why crimes occur. In this instance, extant, or existing, guardianship can become strained. An influx of visitors provides new opportunities, changing the number of suitable targets in an area and potentially centralizing motivated offenders. The typical spatial distribution of crime will become jumbled in response to this large influx of people to downtown areas.
To adequately prepare for an event of this size, police and security must anticipate these adjustments.
Understanding the Risk Landscape
Understanding the pre-existing risk conditions of the Milwaukee area is important. This is where organizations like Pinkerton excel. The Pinkerton Crime Index (PCI), our AI and frontier data science platform, provides historic trends of crime risk across relevant neighborhoods.
The RNC convention activities are centered in the Deer District but are likely to impact much of downtown Milwaukee and surrounding areas. According to PCI, the Deer District and much of downtown have a total crime score of almost 4x the national average. This is driven largely by higher-than-average violent crime with the Deer District and surrounding areas having 5x or 6x violent crime scores and property crime scores at approximately 2x national averages.
Crime is not the only risk consideration. Pinkerton’s real-time intelligence network monitors both current and historical episodes of civil unrest.
Party national conventions bring contention, and have a history of drawing broad demonstrations, particularly in divisive elections or times of civil unrest. Most famously, the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago resulted in one civilian death and hundreds of injuries to protestors, police, and other civilians. More recent National Conventions have resulted in mass arrests, including the 2004 RNC in New York City and the 2008 DNC in Denver, Colorado. Additionally:
- Milwaukee hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2020, which due to COVID-19 had been changed to a primarily virtual event. Despite this, protestors gathered and demonstrated at Red Arrow Park calling for police reform, subsequently marching to the county jail, through downtown Milwaukee to the Wisconsin Center and the Milwaukee Homeland Security building.
- In the summer of 2020, Milwaukee saw large-scale demonstrations involving hundreds of protestors that blocked highways. There were reports of looting and arson and several businesses were damaged.
- In the summer of 2016, demonstrations against police violence became riots, resulting in the burning of several cars and looting and arson at several businesses causing an estimated 5.8 million dollars of damage throughout Milwaukee.
- More recently, demonstrations in Milwaukee have included a 2-week encampment at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and divestment from Israeli institutions and Israel-aligned companies.
Understanding the Lay of the Land, Law Enforcement, and Planned Activities
Mapping out logistics surrounding emergency services and security resources ensures large-scale events and their contingency planning are successful and safe. In this case, the convention center and the arenas where the RNC will take place are located within a half mile of fire and police services and 0.6 miles from a hospital.
Chicago Police Department and Milwaukee Police Departments have pledged support to one another during both conventions. Security in the convention area will be maintained by a multitude of local and national law enforcement agencies including police, sheriff, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the National Guard, and the Secret Service.
The Secret Service’s Security plan is a multi-layered security zone with restricted vehicle and pedestrian access. Intermittent closures begin on July 11, 2024, and official closures will be in place from July 14 until 1 a.m. on July 19. Affected streets include Wisconsin Avenue, Kilbourn Avenue, Juneau Avenue, and State Street.
An outer perimeter with restricted vehicle access and vehicle checkpoints is marked in security maps shaded in yellow but will be open to all pedestrians. The inner perimeter shaded in red will include restricted access to pedestrians, where only credentialed individuals will have access.
Two approved protest zones border spaces within the hard outer perimeter:
- The southside demonstration area and speaker platform at Zeidler Union Square and a planned parade route N Plankinton Ave, W Clybourn St, N 2nd St, W Michigan St, N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., N 5th St.
- The Northside Speaker platform at McKinley and MLK, at Haymarket Square Park on the north end of Fiserv Forum.
Over 100 groups and individuals have signed up for the speaker platform and parade route. The city has stated that ad hoc peaceful demonstrations on public spaces and sidewalks will be permitted but has emphasized a zero-tolerance policy for violence and destruction of property.
All weapons are prohibited from the inner zone, and the outer perimeter follows statutes of Milwaukee and Wisconsin firearm laws, allowing open carry and permitted concealed carry.
Businesses within the perimeter will be closed to the public, but many will still be open to convention attendants and their volunteers. There is one residential building within the inner perimeter.
Large-scale Event Security
Pinkerton is an ideal partner for local businesses that want to be prepared for large-scale events — especially those that have a capacity for volatility. Our protective intelligence and threat assessment teams can monitor developing situations in real time and help coordinate ad hoc on-site protective services so that businesses can ensure the safety of staff, customers, products, and facilities.
