On Wednesday, former Republican state representative Adam Jarchow released a multi-faceted plan to curb violent crime and help students with mental health issues. This comes as a response to primary opponent Eric Toney’s work at highlighting that he is the one with more prosecutorial experience. Additionally, Jarchow’s plan is the first major attempt at staking out ground when it comes to law enforcement issues.
In a statement, Jarchow explained that “[f]amilies across Wisconsin want to fund our police, get crime under control, end the low-bail travesties, and keep our kids and communities safe. As Attorney General, our brave men and women in uniform will have a strong ally — and together, we’ll fight the rise in violent crime and Make Wisconsin Safe Again.”
Jarchow’s plan looks to do the following:
- Create programs at two and four year colleges to train more police officers
- Waive tuition and forgive student loans for those entering law enforcement careers
- Establish a grant program to help local police recruit and retain officers
- Create a violent crime taskforce made up of DOJ agents and prosecutors that could help local law enforcement
- Compile data on violent crime rates & violent offenders’ bail and custody status
- Allow the Wisconsin DOJ to charge suspects in gun cases
- Funding for the initiative is proposed through a surcharge on relevant cases
The plan does not include cost estimates or say where the DOJ will obtain grant money.
