APPLETON– Governor
Doyle today announced a $50 million award for Fox Valley Technical
College (FVTC) to train criminal justice professionals to protect
children from online sex predators and other violent crimes. With the
grant from the Office of Justice Programming of the U.S. Department of
Justice, the FVTC will train 250,000 criminal justice professionals
across the country, including law enforcement, prosecutors, missing
children organizations, and nonprofit organizations during the next
five years. Governor Doyle’s Sex Offender Apprehension and Felony
Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force will work closely with FVTC officials as
they implement the training program.
“Wisconsin has
cemented its status as a national leader in tracking down and
monitoring sex offenders, but there is still more work to do,”
Governor Doyle said. “Online sex predators are an increasing problem
and we must be fully trained to keep our children safe. This grant
will help us expand the efforts of law enforcement officials, parents,
teachers, and neighbors across the state who are working together to
tighten the net around sex offenders. Keeping our kids and our
communities safe is our top priority and a never-ending job.”
The FVTC Criminal
Justice Child Protection training program will receive:
-
$1.8 million per
year for the next 5 years for Child Protection and Abuse training
that will focus on response to missing and abducted children, along
with investigative techniques for child sexual exploitation, child
fatalities, and missing or abused children.
-
$3.2 million per
year over the next 5 years for Internet Crimes Against Children,
which will enhance technology facilities that monitor child sexual
victimization, specifically online enticement and the proliferation
of child pornography.
-
$5 million per
year over the next 5 years for the Amber Alert program, a voluntary
partnership between law enforcement agencies and broadcasters to
activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious children abduction
cases.
As Attorney General,
Governor Doyle launched the Internet Crimes Against Children Task
Force at the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ). The Task Force
was comprised of DOJ special agents, who led undercover investigations
into online sex predators posing as young boys and girls. The special
agents also worked to crack down on online child pornography and
propagate online safety efforts for children.
Earlier this month,
Governor Doyle announced that law enforcement authorities have located
17 of “Wisconsin’s Most Wanted Sex Offenders” and directed the
Department of Corrections to target 20 additional dangerous and
elusive sex offenders that meet the criteria for “Wisconsin’s Most
Wanted.” Since then, three additional “Most Wanted” offenders have
been located.
“Wisconsin’s Most
Wanted” is a list of the most dangerous and elusive sex offenders in
the state, launched in May as part of the Governor’s SAFE Initiative.
Developed by Governor Doyle’s SAFE Task Force, a group of 15 top law
enforcement leaders from across the state, the offenders on the list
were selected based on a comprehensive set of criteria including
seriousness of offense, overall criminal history, history of complying
with registration rules, and other factors.
Information about
each offender is available on the Most Wanted web site,
www.mostwantedsexoffenders.wi.gov.
Governor Doyle’s
SAFE Teams of retired law enforcement have also tracked down more than
850 noncompliant sex offenders, including more than 520 who committed
crimes against juveniles.
Coordination among
law enforcement agencies has forced more sex offenders into compliance
with state law, raising the rate of compliance to 88 percent from 82
percent one year ago, when Governor Doyle first ordered a crackdown on
sex offenders who have not complied with the sex offender registry.
The average compliance rate is 76 percent nationally.
This spring, DOC
Secretary Matthew Frank convened the first-ever Midwest SAFE Summit
with four neighboring states to share ideas and best practices on
effective sex offender tracking and registry management. Since then,
Wisconsin has exchanged sex offender information with Illinois, Iowa,
Michigan and Minnesota, pioneering one of the first systems in the
country to share registry data electronically with neighboring states
on a regular basis.
Due to the
achievements of the SAFE Initiative, Wisconsin was one of only two
states in the country to earn a grade of “A” and the only Midwest
state to receive a grade higher than ‘D’ in a report issued earlier
this month by the national children’s advocacy group “Parents for
Megan’s Law.”
Citizens with any
information on the whereabouts of any of the most wanted sex offenders
should contact local law enforcement department or the “SAFE Tip”
hotline toll free at 1-877-234-0085 or via email at
docsafetips@doc.state.wi.us.
Calls will be answered by DOC staff Monday through Friday between 7:45
a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Citizens with any immediate concern for their
safety or the safety of a child are asked to call 911.
Learn more about
Governor Doyle’s SAFE Initiative at:
http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?prid=1358&locid=19.
