evidence: Milwaukee has broken its annual homicide record for the third year in a row, reaching a grim milestone few thought possible when killings in the city and around the country began an alarming spike in 2020. [...] Milwaukee police have struggled to keep up with the caseload and has seen its homicide clearance rate fall from nearly 80% prior to 2020, to around 50% in the years since. As of Friday, it stood at 56%. [...] Homicides in Milwaukee have been steadily tapering off since peaking in July, with 26 reported. Although that could reflect seasonal crime patterns — violent crime tends to rise in warmer months — those seasonal variations have been less pronounced in Milwaukee since 2020. For example, January 2022 saw almost as many homicides, with 24 reported, as the peak month of July.