Green Bay Reporter

The Supporting Law Enforcement bill package put forward by Republican lawmakers early last week has earned the support of Rep. Jim Steineke (R-WI).

Steineke tweeted Jan. 6, sharing a video providing additional details about the bill package, including its inclusion of national recruitment efforts, relocation bonuses, onboarding assistance, training and certification funding and work-life balance benefits. 

“Police officers are the hardest jobs for local governments to fill. That’s why we’re proposing a plan to help combat this worsening problem,” Steineke wrote in his tweet.

The bill package will also provide $5,000 in signing bonuses to new officers in Wisconsin, reimburse law enforcement academy costs for all officers, require technical colleges to offer part-time academy programs, provide free fishing and deer hunting licenses and create a matching grant program, the video states. 

According to a report by WBAY, the number of police officers in Wisconsin is currently at a 10-year low, with only 13,576 in the state. At the same time, the state has seen a 9% increase in crime, a rate that is higher than the national average of 5.2%. 

A National Police Foundation survey from June found that 86% of police departments across the country were facing shortages, the Journal-News reports. This comes alongside an increase in retirements and a decrease in new cadets amid accusations of police brutality that have led to cuts in department funding. 

The bill package introduced last week is set to help recruit and retain police officers, FOX 6 Milwaukee reports. It would require $25 million in funding, which would come from federal ARPA dollars, and would include teaching students how to interact with police, signing bonuses and protecting no-knock warrants.