SAFE Task Force

November 10, 2005

Statewide task force convenes to keep Wisconsin SAFE

Key law enforcement leaders develop plan to implement Governor Doyle’s agenda to crack down on sex offenders

(MADISON) – A group of top law enforcement officials from across Wisconsin communities gathered today in Madison for the first meeting of the SAFE Task Force, a key part of Governor Jim Doyle’s sweeping initiative to protect Wisconsin kids and communities from sex offenders.

“The SAFE Task Force will oversee and coordinate efforts to track down, arrest and prosecute sex offenders who fail to register and try to stay anonymous in Wisconsin communities, putting our children and families at risk,” said Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Matthew Frank, whose agency runs the state’s sex offender registration program. “We must remain alert and make sure we have the best system possible to locate and crack down on these dangerous predators.”

The task force is a centerpiece of Governor Doyle’s SAFE (Sex Offender Apprehension and Felony Enforcement) Initiative, a comprehensive new effort to protect Wisconsin kids and keep communities safe from sex offenders. The initiative includes a host of measures, from the creation of SAFE Teams to an historic commitment to put approximately 200 of the state’s most dangerous sex offenders on around-the-clock GPS monitoring.

The SAFE Task Force is co-chaired by DOC Deputy Secretary Rick Raemisch, a former Dane County Sheriff, and Outagamie County Sheriff Brad Gehring. It is comprised of 15 members including local police chiefs or other leaders, county sheriffs and district attorneys, state agency leaders as well as the U.S. Marshals Service.

David Steingraber, Executive Director of the Office of Justice Assistance, said his agency is committed to working with DOC and law enforcement across the state to find sex offenders in our communities.

“The SAFE Task Force and our SAFE team will work diligently to find these anonymous offenders,” he said.

Thursday’s meeting included introductions and discussion about the group’s mission, the Sex Offender Registry and other matters.

In September 2005, Governor Doyle announced his SAFE Initiative which involves state, local, and federal partners focused on keeping kids safe by holding sex offenders accountable for their actions, preventing them from becoming anonymous in our communities, and apprehending and prosecuting those sex offenders who fail to notify authorities of their whereabouts, as required by law.

In addition to the SAFE Task Force, other components of the SAFE Initiative include the following:

Governor Doyle is directing the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Family Services to place all of the state’s most dangerous sexual offenders – those sexually violent persons who had been involuntarily committed and placed on supervised release in the community under the Wisconsin’s Sexual Predator Law (Chapter 980) – on GPS monitoring. Governor Doyle also is calling for legislation to ensure that future sex offenders committed under the Chapter 980 law would be subject to lifetime GPS surveillance, even if a court eventually orders their release from supervision. In addition, Governor Doyle has directed DOC to begin placing other serious child sex offenders who are released from state correctional facilities on GPS monitoring. Using a combination of state and federal resources, the state will use GPS technology to monitor approximately 200 sex offenders.

Governor Doyle has formed SAFE Teams, comprised of retired law enforcement professionals and DOC officials, to locate and hold accountable those sex offenders who have failed to register with the state as required by law. The SAFE Teams employ a variety of investigatory tactics and tools to locate noncompliant sex offenders, and provide the evidence needed by law enforcement to locate the offender and make an arrest. At a time when law enforcement is faced with many important priorities to keep our communities safe, the sole mission of SAFE Teams is to track down sex offenders and work with law enforcement to apprehend, arrest, and prosecute them.

Governor Doyle called for a new, toll-free “SAFE Tip” hotline for citizens to report information about noncompliant sex offenders to SAFE Teams working to track them down. In addition, callers can learn more about the SAFE Initiative and Wisconsin’s Sex Offender Registry. Launched in October 2005, the “SAFE Tip” hotline is 1-877-234-0085. Calls will be answered by Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry staff Monday through Friday between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. During non-business hours, a voicemail box will be available to take messages. If the call is urgent, callers are encouraged to contact local law enforcement. In addition to the hotline, the Department of Corrections has also established a “SAFE Tip” email address, docsafetips@doc.state.wi.us. This email address provides citizens another way to provide tips to SAFE Teams, or seek further information about the SAFE Initiative or the Sex Offender Registry. Emails will be answered during normal business hours.

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11/10/2005