Award of $204,780 will help state further strengthen
its comprehensive registration program
MADISON – Department of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Rick Raemisch
today announced the agency has been awarded a grant from the federal
Office of Justice Programs’ Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring,
Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) Office, to make further
enhancements to its already strong Sex Offender Registry Program.
“Law enforcement agencies are already taking advantage of the wealth
of information on the Sex Offender Registry web site, and this grant
equips the Department of Corrections with tools to make information
about each registrant more accessible and accurate to our law
enforcement partners than ever before,” Secretary Raemisch said. “Better
tools for law enforcement mean safer communities in the long run.”
The one-year grant of $204,780 will enable the DOC to make changes
that result in quicker sex offender data updates and an expanded system
for Sex Offender Registry staff to verify offender address information
that appears on the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry web site.
Additionally, the grant provides monies to the DOC to work
collaboratively with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Criminal
Justice Program to evaluate the DOC’s existing operations within the
context of new federal legislation, the Adam Walsh Act, and create
documentation of a state model for other sex offender registries to use
to fulfill mandates of the Adam Walsh Act.
Dr. Tom Caywood, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of University of
Wisconsin-Platteville Criminal Justice Department stated, “The
University of Wisconsin-Platteville is excited to collaborate with the
Wisconsin Department of Corrections on this project. Keeping citizens
informed of sex offenders’ whereabouts is key to removing the anonymity
of sex offenders in the communities and holding sex offenders
accountable. Through our collaboration, I am confident this project will
deliver an enhanced sex offender registry to serve the needs of the
people of Wisconsin and strengthen Wisconsin's crime prevention
efforts.”
Specifically, with monies obtained through the grant, the DOC will:
Create and attach scanned records on each registrant to the Law
Enforcement Sex Offender Registry web site, allowing law enforcement
to access PDF files with complete and accurate sex offender registry
records.
Develop an improved address verification program, resulting in
greater registrant accountability and information accuracy.
Analyze Wisconsin’s Sex Offender Registry law and compare
day-to-day registry operations against new federal registry mandates
under the Adam Walsh Act.
Update registration data collection tools to fulfill mandates under
the Adam Walsh Act.
“Under Governor Jim Doyle’s leadership, Wisconsin is leading the
nation in strategies to tighten the net around sex offenders and prevent
them from becoming anonymous in our communities,” Secretary Raemisch
said. “But keeping our kids safe is a never-ending job. This grant will
allow Wisconsin to make additional enhancements to the registry that
will help to make our communities even safer.”
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