Milwaukee Code Ch. 106 restricts loitering for narrow purposes—prostitution, drug activity, gang gatherings, and obstruction. State law Wis. Stat. §947.013 separately prohibits loitering or prowling in suspicious circumstances.
Milwaukee abandoned its broad loitering ordinance after federal courts struck down vague city laws (Chicago v. Morales, 1999). Today the city uses targeted ordinances under Code Ch. 106 covering loitering for prostitution, drug solicitation, gang activity in posted areas, and blocking passage on sidewalks. Each requires officers to identify specific conduct or warning steps before citation. Wis. Stat. §947.013 (loitering, prowling, and similar conduct) provides a state-level disorderly-conduct backstop when behavior creates alarm and the person fails to identify themselves. Civil-rights litigation has pushed enforcement toward conduct-specific predicates rather than mere presence.
Refusing to disperse after warning in a posted gang or drug-loitering area, soliciting prostitution, or obstructing a sidewalk can bring municipal citations, with disorderly-conduct charges reserved for escalated conduct.
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