Wisconsin bill targets police recruitment crisis

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“The state of recruitment and retention in police agencies is in trouble.”

That’s according to a 2024 report from the International Association of Chiefs of Police. And Wisconsin’s police departments aren’t strangers to the staffing shortage.

The total number of law enforcement officers in Wisconsin has dropped for years and now sits at near record lows, The Badger Project has found. As chiefs and sheriffs across the state say they struggle to fill positions in an industry less attractive to people than it once was, small departments are especially struggling.

A bipartisan bill working through the state Legislature aims to alleviate some of the problem.

The proposal would allow small police departments to apply for state grants to help put a recruit through the police academy. The grants would extend after graduation and cover the costs associated with the recruit’s department field training. The bill requires the hire to stay with the department for one year.

“There’s such a need for this,” said Rep. Clinton Anderson (D-Beloit), who introduced the Assembly’s version of the bill in mid-July.

Anderson, who also introduced the bill in 2023, explained that getting it passed this session will be an uphill battle because the state budget did not fund it. Divided government and the rush to pass the budget before the federal government passed its own tax and spending bill were factors, Anderson said.

“I know I care about law enforcement. I know they say they do too,” Anderson said of Republicans.

If the bill were passed now, Anderson said, the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee would need to release the funding for it. His goal, since that’s not happening, is to open up the conversation and get a public hearing. Anderson hopes Republicans will take it up later in the session.

“While I am disappointed, the advocacy does not end,” said Rep. Bob Donovan, a Republican from Greenfield who worked with Anderson to introduce the bill. “I am still pursuing this bill to show my colleagues, and the public, the need for this legislation.”

While larger departments frequently sponsor a new hire as they go through the academy and move on to field training, smaller departments often can’t afford to do that, Anderson said. Small departments pull from the few who weren’t sponsored or they may make lateral hires from other departments.

“These struggles are all too real,” wrote Sen. Jesse James, a Republican from Clark County, in an email.

James, a current police officer for the Village of Cadott in Chippewa County, introduced the Senate’s version of the bill in June, weeks before Gov. Tony Evers signed the state budget.

“I think it will be a significant challenge getting the bill funded and signed into law this session,” James wrote. “I still strongly believe in the importance of this program and will continue to advocate for it as the session continues. If we can’t get it across the finish line this year, I’ll try again next year.”

Both versions of the bill were assigned to committees the same day they were introduced. Neither have progressed since.

“Even if it takes another five terms,” Anderson said, “I will keep hammering home on this. It’s really important.”

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.