Evers signs executive order creating Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention

Earlier this month, Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order creating a new executive office within his administration to boost violence prevention efforts statewide, earning praise from Democrats and ridicule from Republicans as a political stunt and boondoggle.

The governor also announced that he is allocating $10 million in ARPA (Covid-relief) funding to create the Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention. The money will be used to get the office up and running and to administer grants supporting violence- and gun violence prevention efforts statewide.

Evers said the initiatives will only be a part of what he called a broad effort by his administration to curb gun violence and that his 2025-27 state budget proposal will provide comprehensive gun safety reform efforts, including ongoing state funding to make the new office permanent.

“Just weeks ago, we had a heartbreaking, deadly school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School here in Madison,” Evers said. “As a father, a grandfather, and as governor, it is unthinkable that a kid and an educator woke up and went to school that morning and never came home. That should never happen. Not to any kid, not to any educator, not to any person or family — not in this state or anywhere else in this country.”

Evers said he that will never accept gun violence as a foregone reality or stop working to change it. 

“Violence, including gun violence, is a statewide problem, with statewide consequences for people and families across our state,” he said. “This issue has long deserved a comprehensive, statewide response, and that’s what we’ll be taking on with our new Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention.”

That’s only part of the agenda, the governor stated.

“While we’ve recently seen other violent crime rates decline, rates of gun deaths in Wisconsin have increased significantly over the last decade,” he said. “Comprehensive, commonsense gun safety reform is a critical part of reducing crime, including gun violence, statewide, and this issue must be a shared priority that transcends politics and partisanship.”

Evers said the new office will work to “connect the dots” between state and local government agencies, including law enforcement agencies, to ensure a whole-of-government approach to prevent violence, including gun violence statewide; support and provide technical assistance to local violence prevention and intervention efforts; administer and award grants to school districts, firearm dealers, law enforcement agencies, non-profits, and government agencies to support violence reduction and prevention initiatives; develop public education campaigns to promote safer communities; and to identify opportunities to improve statewide policies or laws. 

Democratic lawmakers praised the signing of the executive order, including state Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison), who has called for the creation of such an office since 2021, as well as for programs to establish a community violence intervention grant program.

“I recognize the importance of having a coordinated, collaborative approach toward preventing violence in our state,” Stubbs said. “…. According to Everytown, guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in our state.”

In Wisconsin, Stubbs said, the rate of gun deaths has increased 45 percent from 2013 to 2022, compared to a nationwide increase of 36 percent. In an average year, 708 people die and 1,686 are wounded by guns in Wisconsin. Stubbs said those statistics were both unacceptable and preventable.

“Now is the time to take decisive action to protect our children, our families, and our neighbors,” she said. “Especially after the tragic shooting that recently took place at Abundant Life Christian School in my new district, I remain committed to introducing and advocating for legislation that prioritizes public safety and addresses the root causes of all kinds of violence.”

Stubbs said establishing the Office of Violence Prevention was a critical step toward decreasing violence in the state, empowering local communities, and ensuring that tragedies are prevented before they occur.

Assembly Democratic leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) was likewise effusive.

“We should be doing everything in our power to keep our communities safe,” Neubauer (D-Racine) said. “It’s far past time we take action on common sense policies to build a safer Wisconsin, and today’s executive order creating the Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention will help us move forward with preventing gun violence across our state.”

Neubauer said her city, Racine, has already supported proactive measures to reduce violence, and that the governor’s proposal would help them continue to invest in the community. 

“Keeping folks safe and reducing gun violence is one of our top priorities as legislative Democrats, and I’m proud to join my colleagues in supporting Gov. Evers’ creation of the Office of Violence Prevention and his proposal to include sustainable, ongoing state funding to ensure the office can continue its important work beyond the current biennium,” she said. “Together, we’re taking action to keep Wisconsinites safe.”

Seriously?

Republicans mocked and denounced the proposal.

“Let me get this straight, Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention was so ineffective at preventing violence that they fired the director and renamed the office,” state Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) said. “But now, Gov. Evers wants to replicate that failure at the state level? And he wants to implement gun control that has failed to prevent gun violence anywhere in the country?”

Solving the problem of gun violence isn’t hard, Wanggaard said.

“You don’t need to grow government to prevent violence,” he said. “If Gov. Evers is serious about ending violence and crime, he should support law enforcement and give them the tools and resources they need. He should order Milwaukee Public Schools to follow the law and hire resource officers. He should tell his district attorney buddies to charge and lock up criminals. Eliminating violence requires taking violent criminals off the street.”

State Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R-Hubertus) said the announcement was just one more 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,” Piwowarczyk said. “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.”

If Evers was serious about ending violence, Piwowarczyk said, he should order Milwaukee public schools to follow the law and hire 25 school resource officers. 

“Wisconsin does not need more government red tape but better support for local and state law enforcement,” he said. “The governor should demand that his Department of Corrections immediately begin revoking all criminals on supervision who re-offend. 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.”

Rather than creating another useless government bureaucracy, Piwowarczyk said 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 percent,” he said. “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.”

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.