Gov. Jim Doyle and Democratic candidate for Attorney General Kathleen Falk announced a new proposal Tuesday to crack down on child predators on the Internet.
The initiative will add three new Division of Criminal Investigation agents, doubling staffing for the Internet Crimes Against Children task force. The initiative will also recruit retired law enforcement officers to work with the task force and hold workshops and training exercises with teachers, parents, police and prosecutors to prevent victimization of children.
The measures are designed ""to maintain Wisconsin's position as a leader in cracking down on online child sex predators,"" Doyle said in a phone conference with the media.
Falk emphasized the need to extend Wisconsin's already tough stance against child predators to the Internet.
""What we know now as parents is that we can no longer have that confidence that our children are safe, even at home, given the invention of the Internet...and children's curiosity and natural vulnerability,"" Falk said.
She also touted her experience in the attorney general's office and past support of Wisconsin law enforcement agencies, a week before the midterm elections.
The initiative follows the model of Doyle's 2005 Sex Offender Apprehension and Felony Enforcement Initiative, which went after sex offenders who failed to comply with the offender registry.
""I want anyone who is on the Internet and communicating with somebody who they think is a 14 or 15 or 16-year-old boy or girl from Wisconsin ... to understand that Wisconsin is the toughest state in the country and that there's a very good chance that the person they're communicating with is in fact not a juvenile, but is a law enforcement officer,"" Doyle said.
As of press time, neither Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green nor Republican attorney general candidate J.B. Van Hollen could be reached for comment.
