Sgt. Theresa Janick, who oversees the Milwaukee Police Department’s Sensitive Crimes Unit, said her unit has seen a decrease this year in the reporting of child abuse and sexual crimes against children.
‘Unnoticed and unreported’: Child abuse reporting down during pandemic, while internet crimes increase | Crime

Janick’s unit investigated 361 reports of sexual assault of a child and 554 reports of child abuse from Jan. 1 to Nov. 15 in 2019. Over the same period in 2020, cases dropped to 334 and 475, respectively.

Johnson
Det. Sgt. Julie Johnson, who oversees the Special Victims Unit at the Madison Police Department, said Madison has seen a similar pattern, with a drop in cases at the start of the pandemic, but an upswing more recently.
From January to October in 2019, Madison police investigated 165 cases of abuse, neglect or sexual assault compared to