J.B. VAN HOLLEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Enhancing Awareness of Public Safety in our Community

When I became Attorney General on January 1, 2007, I made it a priority to put law enforcement and public safety first at the Department of Justice. I believe strongly that the Department of Justice exists to assist local law enforcement. Thus, it has been my focus to find ways that the Department of Justice, through its resources, can help local law enforcement better do its job, and how I, as Attorney General, can use my office to help enhance awareness of the public safety issues facing the state.

Last month I told you of the progress being made to address the DNA backlog in our Crime Laboratory system. From my prior experience as district attorney and United States Attorney and listening to law enforcement as I traveled the state, I knew that there was perhaps no single program run at the Department of Justice that could help local law enforcement and prosecutors more than cutting into the DNA backlog at the state crime labs.

One of the reasons I knew the crime lab was so important was because I heard it repeatedly from you. I’ve made it a top priority to maximize interaction with law enforcement so that the Department can increase its responsiveness to your needs. In October, I hosted a law enforcement summit that brought together law enforcement from throughout the state to discuss issues such as crimes against children and the evolving drug problem. This was not a conference of presentations where the Department told you our thoughts; it was an interactive summit where you shared ideas with me and DOJ staff, so that we could do our jobs better at the state level.

But this dialogue must occur at the community level as well. That’s why I am traveling throughout the state, county by county, to meet with law enforcement and other leaders on public safety issues concerning their individual communities. A variety of issues are raised at these meetings, from immigration to enhancing the TIME System, from public records law to implementation of HR-218. I look forward to working in partnership with you on issues like these and continuing to have community-level meetings to enable the Department of Justice to better assist you in the significant work you do to make Wisconsin a safer place.

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