FREDERICA FREYBERG:
PEOPLE IN MILWAUKEE NEIGHBORHOODS OVERCOME BY GUN VIOLENCE MAY SOON SEE SOME RELIEF BECAUSE THE WISCONSIN ATTORNEY GENERAL THIS WEEK ANNOUNCED AN AGGRESSIVE NEW EFFORT ON THE PART OF STATE, LOCAL AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTORS TO CRACK DOWN ON GUN OFFENDERS. MILWAUKEE HAS SEEN A SPIKE IN GUN VIOLENCE THIS YEAR, MARKING 89 HOMICIDES SO FAR. HERE TO DESCRIBE THE MILWAUKEE GUN VIOLENCE REDUCTION INITIATIVE IS ATTORNEY GENERAL BRAD SCHIMEL, AND THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
BRAD SCHIMEL:
THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
FREDERICA FREYBERG:
WHO DOES THIS NEW INITIATIVE GO AFTER?
BRAD SCHIMEL:
THIS GOES AFTER CRIMINALS WHO USE GUNS FOR VIOLENCE IN MILWAUKEE COUNTY. SHORTLY AFTER I TOOK OFFICE, WITHIN A MONTH I WAS MEETING WITH THE POLICE CHIEF AND THE MAYOR AND THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN MILWAUKEE COUNTY TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE NEED TO DO ABOUT THIS. LITTLE DID WE KNOW THE PROBLEM IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO GET WORSE. BUT I’M GLAD WE STARTED EARLY SO THAT WE’RE READY NOW TO GET GOING ON THIS.
FREDERICA FREYBERG:
DESCRIBE FOR ME EXACTLY HOW THIS INITIATIVE WILL WORK.
BRAD SCHIMEL:
WELL, EVERYONE INVOLVED IS GOING TO PUT A PIECE INTO THIS, AND FROM THE STATE’S PERSPECTIVE, WE’LL BE PUTTING TWO ASSISTANT ATTORNEYS GENERAL WHO WILL FOCUS SOLELY ON THIS GUN PROBLEM. THEY’LL WORK CLOSELY WITH THE CURRENT GUN UNIT IN THE MILWAUKEE DA’S OFFICE AND THEN ALSO WITH A TEAM OF EXPERIENCED INVESTIGATORS AT THE MILWAUKEE POLICE DEPARTMENT WE’LL PUT INTO THIS. FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WE’RE ALSO GOING TO BE MAKING AVAILABLE AT LEAST $50,000 IN OVERTIME FUNDING SO THAT THESE OFFICERS AND THESE DETECTIVES CAN WORK ON THESE CASES AND MAKE SURE WE GET THEM SOLVED. A BIG PIECE TO THIS IS MAKING SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY WHERE PEOPLE DON’T FEEL SAFE RIGHT NOW, KNOWS THAT WE HAVE THEIR BACK AND ALL OF THIS IS DONE WITH THAT IN MIND. WE’RE TIRED OF LOOKING AT THESE VICTIM FAMILIES AND HEARING THE TRAGEDY THEY’RE EXPERIENCING. WE’RE TIRED OF PEOPLE THAT CAN’T FEEL SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. CHILDREN THAT HAVE BEEN SHOT SITTING ON THEIR GRANDPARENTS’ PORCH. ALL THESE THINGS. WE NEED TO PUT AN END TO THIS. AND WE HAVE DECLARED WAR ON THESE PEOPLE.
FREDERICA FREYBERG:
WHY IS IT MORE EFFECTIVE, THIS KIND OF PARTNERSHIP, THAN EACH AGENCY WORKING SEPARATELY TOWARD THE SAME GOAL?
BRAD SCHIMEL:
WELL, WE CAN BRING RESOURCES FROM THE STATE TO HELP THE LOCAL RESOURCES THAT ARE OVERTAXED RIGHT NOW. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I SHOULD MENTION IS ANOTHER ROLE FOR THE STATE IS AN AMPING UP BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. SECRETARY WALL HAS INDICATED HE’S GOING TO PUT 100 PROBATION AND PAROLE AGENTS IN MILWAUKEE DOING HOME CHECKS, DOING BAR CHECKS, MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE THAT THEY’RE SUPERVISING ARE FOLLOWING THEIR RULES. AND WE’RE GOING TO PURSUE REVOCATIONS ON THESE PEOPLE. AND WE’RE GOING TO BE TARGETING INDIVIDUALS THAT WE KNOW ARE INVOLVED IN THE GUN VIOLENCE. WE ALREADY KNOW WHO MANY OF THEM ARE. WE JUST HAVE TO BUILD THE CASES.
FREDERICA FREYBERG:
WHAT DO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS BELIEVE IS THE CAUSE FOR THE SPIKE IN VIOLENT GUN CRIME, NOT JUST IN MILWAUKEE, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY?
BRAD SCHIMEL:
I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT. I KNOW HOW TO GO AFTER SOLVING THE PROBLEM AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL. GETTING INTO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEMS, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CHALLENGES WITH SCHOOL SYSTEMS AND DROPOUT RATES, TEEN PREGNANCY, FATHERS WHO AREN’T PART OF THEIR FAMILIES. THERE ARE ALL THOSE SOCIAL ISSUES THAT UNDERLIE MANY OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACE WITH STREET VIOLENCE. WE’RE GOING AFTER THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY COMMITTING — THAT ARE COMMITTING THE CRIMES.
FREDERICA FREYBERG:
SOME DECRY LOOSENED GUN CONTROL AS NOT HELPFUL TO THE PROBLEM, LIKE THE REPEAL OF THE 48-HOUR WAITING PERIOD. WHAT’S YOUR RESPONSE TO THAT?
BRAD SCHIMEL:
WELL, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE BEEN CAUGHT COMMITTING GUN CRIMES IN MILWAUKEE ALREADY, MANY OF THEM ALREADY HAD PROHIBITIONS AGAINST HAVING FIREARMS. THEY’RE GETTING THEM THROUGH ILLEGAL SOURCES. IF YOU’RE GOING OUT PLANNING TO GET INVOLVED IN A GUN FIGHT IN THE STREET, WHICH HAPPENS IN CERTAIN DISTRICTS IN MILWAUKEE EVERY NIGHT, WHEN YOU’RE GOING OUT TO DO THAT, YOU’RE NOT WORRYING ABOUT WHETHER YOU HAD A BACKGROUND CHECK CONDUCTED ON THAT PURCHASE OR NOT. THIS REALLY — IT DOESN’T HELP ANYTHING TO INCONVENIENCE LAWFUL GUN OWNERS. THIS IS ALL ABOUT ILLEGAL PEOPLE.
FREDERICA FREYBERG:
WHERE DO THESE ILLEGAL PEOPLE WITH THEIR ILLEGAL GUNS — WHERE IS THE PROLIFERATION OF THESE WEAPONS COMING FROM?
BRAD SCHIMEL:
THEY’RE OUT THERE. IT’S THERE NOW. SOMETIMES THEY’RE STEALING IT FROM LAW-ABIDING GUN OWNERS’ HOMES IN BURGLARIES. THEY’RE ALREADY OUT THERE. THERE’S A MARKET FOR IT ALREADY.
FREDERICA FREYBERG:
NOW, YOU RAN ON THIS ISSUE IN YOUR CAMPAIGN FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYING THEN THAT MILWAUKEE COUNTY FELL SHORT ON FILING FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM CHARGES. NOW YOU’RE KIND OF PUTTING YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS AND WITH STATE PROSECUTORS, AS YOU SAY, IN MILWAUKEE COUNTY AND PUTTING THESE FEDERAL GRANTS TOWARD POLICE OVERTIME. BUT IN YOUR CAMPAIGN AT THAT TIME YOU SAID THERE ARE STRINGS ATTACHED TO THIS KIND OF INITIATIVE AND EFFORT THAT YOU WOULD MAKE.
BRAD SCHIMEL:
RIGHT.
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News Stories from PBS Wisconsin
02/03/25
‘Here & Now’ Highlights: State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, Jane Graham Jennings, Chairman Tehassi Hill

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