OnFocus – Today, Attorney General Brad Schimel opened his annual AG’s Public Safety Summit. Nearly 200 law enforcement officers and school faculty will gather for the next three days to discuss school safety, the subject of this year’s summit, through educational tracks specific to an attendee’s profession, either law enforcement officer or school official.
“Keeping children and faculty safe in our K-12 schools is a top priority at DOJ and our training will help strengthen the multi-disciplinary teams on the ground,” said Attorney General Schimel. “Instead of only including law enforcement and public safety leaders, we’ve added educators and school staff, and the team at the Wisconsin Department of Justice has selected nationally renowned speakers who will present on the best practices to keep kids safe; and if the worst should occur, how to respond quickly and effectively. This conference will help continue the conversation and foster further collaboration between law enforcement and educators.”
In total, 105 law enforcement officers and 89 school officials from around the state will attend programing on active shooter situations and recognizing, assessing, and managing the threat of targeted violence. Conference attendees will hear from school safety experts like Mike Clumpner, President/CEO of Threat Suppression, Inc. and Christopher Cole, Director of Threat Intervention Services at UW-Madison.
This year’s conference will also continue to support law enforcement officer wellness. Tim Rutledge of the Mississippi Law Enforcement for Peer Support will provide a presentation on the benefits of bringing a peer support team to a law enforcement organization and why officer survival includes mental, emotional, and physical safety.
Over the past three months, since 2017 Wisconsin Act 143 was signed into law, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has consulted with numerous stakeholders in the fields of education, security, law enforcement, and mental health. These specialists, listed at the end of this press release, worked with DOJ’s own security experts to develop DOJ’s Office of School Safety and the School Safety Grant Initiative, both of which will create sustainable improvements in Wisconsin schools.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Schimel announced the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) as the recipient of the first School Safety Grant. KUSD received $888,788, which will be spent on building safety improvements, as well as training for faculty and staff.
Grant funding will be awarded under two School Safety Grant categories, the Primary School Safety Grant and Advanced School Safety Grant. DOJ’s Primary School Safety Grants focus on baseline improvements to schools, including door locks and hardening school entryways. The Advanced School Safety Grants, are prioritized to award grants on a competitive basis to schools that have met minimum security thresholds. Additional school safety grants will be awarded to schools throughout the remainder of 2018.
