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Wisconsin Department of Justice

Wisconsin Department of Justice

Please describe how your agency is structured 

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (Wisconsin DOJ) is led by the attorney general, a constitutional officer who is elected by partisan ballot to a four-year term. Public safety is the core of Wisconsin DOJ's mission. The main duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • ​Providing legal advice and representation for the State of Wisconsin

  • Investigating crimes that are statewide in nature, importance, or influence

  • Providing technical assistance and training to law enforcement officers and prosecutors

  • Assisting victims of crime in exercising their rights and accessing services

  • Providing forensic analysis of evidence in criminal cases

  • Promoting safe school environments​


The Wisconsin Department of Justice is created as a state agency in Wisconsin Statute §15.02, which also defines the internal structure of state agencies. Divisions are the principal subunits of the Department and are headed by an administrator; bureaus are the principal subunits of divisions and are headed by a director. 

DOJ has five divisions and two offices specially created in statute:

  • Division of Criminal Investigation

  • Division of Forensic Sciences

  • Division of Law Enforcement Services (DLES)

  • Division of Legal Services

  • Division of Management Services

  • Office of Crime Victim Services (OCVS)

  • Office of School Safety

 

Please list the federal and state grants your agency administers.

The portfolio changes over time but this is the list of current grant programs. 


Federal:


  • Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program

  • Body Worn Camera Policy and Implementation

  • Byrne JAG

  • Byrne JAG PREA

  • Byrne JAG SORNA

  • Byrne SCIP

  • CJA

  • COSSAP

  • DNA Backlog Reduction Program

  • EALL

  • Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking 

  • ICJR

  • HIDTA

  • Improving Adult and Youth Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Program

  • Justice Counts Implementation Program

  • JJDPA Title II

  • Medicaid Fraud

  • MUHR

  • ICAC

  • NCHIP

  • SAKI

  • Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program

  • JJDPA PREA

  • PSN East & Western Districts

  • COPS Anti-Heroin

  • COPS Anti-MethCOPS Law Enforcement Mental Health

  • RSAT

  • SJS

  • STOP School Violence- Threat Assessment

  • VAWA SASP

  • VAWA STOP

  • VOCA


State:


  • Beat Patrol 

  • Body Worn Camera 

  • Child Advocacy Center

  • Community Oriented Police House

  • County Tribal Law Enforcement 

  • Critical Incident Stabilization

  • Digital Mapping of School Buildings

  • Drug Crimes Enforcement

  • Drug Trafficking Response

  • Elder Abuse Hotline 

  • Sexual Assault Victim Services

  • Shot Spotter

  • State Victim Services 

  • Treatment Alternatives and Diversion

  • Youth Gang Diversion


Please list your top three current priority or focus areas.

Three of the top grant priorities are:

  • Transitioning to a new grants management system in 2026

  • Identifying and procuring funding sources, in addition to COSSAP, that can meet the demand across the state to expand deflection programming

  • Identifying funding sources and working on methods to provide stable funding for Crime Victims 


What is the main thing you would like other NCJA members to know about your agency?

Most divisions and offices in the agency apply for federal grants in order to support their work, but OCVS and DLES do the most grant work as they are the SAA for many grants from US DOJ. The Bureau of Justice Information and Analysis (BJIA) serves as both the state’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program and the Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) and BJIA is in the Division of Law Enforcement Services (DLES). The Bureau of Justice Programs (BJP) is also in DLES and BJP is responsible for administering most of the state grants listed above and many of the of federal non-victim focused formula grants listed above.


In addition to their grant work, OCVS and DLES coordinate and staff Governor-Appointed Councils and Commissions, Boards authorized by statute, and Governor or Legislature initiated task forces. 


The OCVS staffs the following groups:

  • Crime Victims Rights Board

  • Missing Murdered Indigenous Women/Relatives Task Force 

  • Wisconsin Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force


The DLES staffs the following groups:

  • Law Enforcement Standards Board

  • Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission

  • Statewide Criminal Justice Coordinating Council


Staff in DLES also lead the agency’s work in the Drug Take Back Events that are hosted each year. The agency partners with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Department of Military Affairs and local law enforcement agencies to hold Drug Take Back Day events twice a year in the spring and fall. Drug Take Back provides a safe, convenient, and responsible means of prescription medication disposal, while also educating the community about the potential abuse and consequences of improper storage and disposal of these medications. Wisconsin regularly leads the nation in the most prescription medications collected during these events. Wisconsin has collected more than 1.3 million pounds of unwanted medications since Drug Take Back began in 2010 under DEA leadership.

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