WisPolitics Budget Blog

Milwaukee Democratic Rep. Pedro Colon criticized the "dumping" of sex offenders into certain areas, saying his Assembly district has a disproportionate number.

GPS tracking, Colon said, "may provide a lot of comfort, but in the long run may not provide any significant treatment" for offenders. "We may need to do something radically different," said a frustrated Colon.

"I don't know if we're hustling enough," said a frustrated Colon.

Corrections Secretary Frank defended the effort of his staff, saying the state's sex offender registry grows by 100 people per month. He said the department makes every effort not to "dump" sex offenders in any given area, but offenders often return to the neighborhoods they resided in before incarceration.

Colon was skeptical. "The fact is you have agreements with slumlords where you have taken these people," he said, citing a rooming house across the street from his home.

Labels: Colon, Frank, GPS

Sen. Lena Taylor asked whether it would benefit the system and the offenders if 17-year-olds, who are currently treated as adult offenders, would instead be put into the juvenile justice system.

Corrections Secretary Frank said he spoke with the Legislative Audit Committee last week about studying such a change, and said the department is "very interested" in pursuing the possibility.

Labels: Corrections, Frank, Taylor

Corrections Secretary Frank said that GPS is only one part of the continuum for tracking sex offenders. He said the department's plan ties the tracking with home visits and other measures by probation and parole agents. Problems arise after an offender has completed their probation term and the home visits cease, Frank said.

He said the department is committed to the tracking program, but welcomes the discretion allowed to the department to determine the level of tracking. "I'm confident putting that discretion in the hands of our agents," he said. "We make those judgments every day as to how to supervise an offender."

Frank said Wisconsin is on the cutting edge of GPS tracking, and while they can learn from other states' policies, "in some places they're still searching for the right way to do it."

Labels: Corrections, Frank, GPS, Suder

Sen. Dave Hansen commented on the high incarceration rate in Wisconsin. He said the state prison population at 22,600, three times that of Minnesota's population. Hansen asked about the balance between incarceration and treatment.

Frank said that 60 percent of inmates are in for assaultive offenses, and 40 percent for property or drug-related crimes. He said it is a false choice to assume, though, that the state has to make a choice between incarcerating or treating non-violent offenders.

"To have a good system, you need to have both," he said.

Labels: Corrections, Frank, Hansen

Reading from a prepared statement, Corrections Secretary Frank says Doyle's budget "reflects the ... strong commitment to public safety and holding offenders accountable. However, it also reflects the reality that our offender population is growing, with resulting increases to our costs.

"In total, the two-year Corrections budget includes an additional $288 million, including the restoration of $19 million a year for prison health care that was held in reserve by the Joint Committee on Finance in the 2005-07 budget. Also included are 264.5 additional positions, which include the restoration of 83 power plant and security positions cut from the last budget, and 122 positions to launch the statewide Global Positioning System program to track sex offenders."

Click here to read the full text of the prepared remarks.

Labels: Corrections, Frank

Co-chair Sen. Decker says Frank is on a tight schedule.

Labels: Corrections, Frank