This is an opinion column by state Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R-Hubertus).
Gov. Tony Evers’ announcement of a new Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention and his $10 million funding plan is just another example of government overreach that won’t solve the real problem. Creating another state office to tackle violence will only add more bureaucracy and waste taxpayer dollars.
The Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention, which Evers previously threw millions of dollars at, has been a complete failure, blowing $6 million in just three years on administration, car allowances, consultants, travel, and other things that don’t reduce crime. Gov. Evers wants to double down on that failure statewide.
Wisconsin does not need more government red tape but better support for local and state law enforcement. The governor should demand that his Department of Corrections immediately begin revoking all criminals on supervision who re-offend (case in point, Karl Rieves). He should start appointing tough-on-crime judges who will hold offenders accountable, help reduce court backlogs, and encourage prosecutors to clear up their high non-prosecution rates.
The governor’s focus on gun control measures is misguided. Criminals don’t follow the law, and these measures won’t stop them from getting guns illegally. Instead of targeting law-abiding citizens and growing government bloat, Evers should focus on enforcing existing laws and cracking down on violent criminals. It’s astonishing that, at a time when Wisconsinites are clamoring for more governmental efficiency, Evers wants to grow government.
Rather than creating another useless government bureaucracy, Democrats should denounce the efforts to defund the police and work to fix the severe recruitment challenges faced by law enforcement agencies statewide. From 1996 to 2022, the number of sworn police officers in the City of Milwaukee dropped 26%. Instead of working to fix such a severe crisis, Evers has engaged in inflammatory and outrageous rhetoric against police over the years that exacerbated the recruitment problems.
Gov. Evers’ proposal is nothing more than a political stunt that won’t reduce violence. Wisconsin deserves real solutions, not more of the same, failed rhetoric from the governor and Wisconsin Democrats.
This is nothing more than a political theater. Wisconsin already has a statewide Violence Prevention Program – it’s called law enforcement.
–Jim Piwowarczyk is a contributor to Wisconsin Right Now who is the newly elected legislator in the 98th Assembly District. He is the vice chair of the Assembly’s Criminal Justice & Public Safety Committee and is a former law enforcement officer.
