City leaders and law-enforcement officials say the months of lockdown, rising unemployment, more guns on the street and the fallout from mass protests over the George Floyd killing helped create conditions for more violence.

“This was a perfect storm,” said Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales. “We had a series of events that many of us probably never experienced in our time.”

At the same time, law-enforcement officials say they are weighing the risks of aggressively enforcing the law, concerned that a backlash from activists, protesters and residents could trigger attacks on police or a replay of the riots and looting that marked some of the earlier protests. In some cases, officials say, police are backing away from some kinds of petty crime arrests that give them a higher profile on the street, hoping to quell tensions.

“It’s a lot more dangerous to become a police officer,” said Ray Kelly, New York City’s former longstanding police commissioner. “What you see is a backing away.”