MADISON – In a series of Friday afternoon vetoes, Governor Tony Evers continued to put his head in the sand when it comes to addressing Wisconsin’s growing crime epidemic. Among his 43 vetoes on Friday were bills that would have put more police on the streets, and addressed Wisconsin’s increasing and evolving crime epidemic.

 

“Hear no evil, speak no evil is not an effective crime-fighting strategy,” said Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine). “We need strong leadership to tackle rising crime. Instead, we have Governor Evers playing Kevin Bacon shouting “All is Well!” in “Animal House.” Today’s vetoes show that Evers is unable to recognize and unwilling to address the public safety crisis in our neighborhoods.”

 

Among the bills Governor Evers vetoed that would have addressed the evolving nature of crime were:

  • Assembly Bill 776 – which would have increased the penalties for damaging historic buildings, statues and landmarks, such as the ones destroyed in riots in 2020.
  • Assembly Bill 827 – which would have allowed aggregation of value for “flash mob thefts,” where a group steals thousands of dollars of goods, but do not take enough individually for a felony conviction.
  • Assembly Bill 829 – which would have created mandatory minimums for a third conviction of retail theft within five years.

 

Governor Evers also vetoed bills that would have put more cops on the street, including:

  • Assembly Bill 831 – which would have invested federal money into a marketing campaign to recruit and retain law enforcement.
  • Assembly Bill 832 – which would have increased law enforcement training reimbursement.
  • Assembly Bill 834 – which would have required Milwaukee to invest a more equal portion of its ARPA money on law enforcement.
  • Assembly Bill 836 – which would have established two police academies operated by the Wisconsin Technical College System.

 

“The Governor can claim he invested $45 million into the crime epidemic all he wants,” said Wanggaard. “But even he knows that $7,000 for police in most communities, and $8 million on an already-failed “violence prevention program” in Milwaukee will have little or no real effect on making anyone safer. It’s just throwing money at a problem, without expecting results.”

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