Sauk county proposes to implement the sauk county district attorney's office: targeted resources project

The Sauk County District Attorney's Office received a $300,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.039 - Rural Violent Crime Initiative) to implement the Sauk County District Attorney's Office: Targeted Resources Project. The project aims to reduce violent crime in Sauk County, Wisconsin by strategically saturating high-volume drug distribution investigations with prosecutorial resources. Key activities include hiring an additional entry-level prosecutor, reallocating staff to address high-volume drug crime and major/violent crimes, providing early case engagement and vertical prosecution of drug task force operations, increasing police training by prosecutors, and shortening case filing timelines. Expected outcomes include increased interdiction of high-volume drug dealing, reduced violent crime statistics, enhanced collaboration between prosecutors and the Sauk County Drug Task Force, and reduced case filing timelines. This grant award will enable Sauk County to enhance its prosecutorial capacity and implement targeted strategies to combat drug-related violent crime in the region.

The purpose is to reduce violent crime by strategically saturating high volume drug distribution investigations with prosecutorial resources. Project activities include hiring an additional entry-level prosecutor, reallocating staff resources to strategically address high volume drug crime and major/violent crimes, early case engagement on and vertical prosecution of drug task force operations, increased police training by prosecutors, and shortened case filing timelines. Expected outcomes include increased interdiction of high volume drug dealing, reduced violent crime statistics, prosecutors as collaborative members of the sauk county drug task force, and reduced case filing timelines. Furthermore, strategic targeting of the distributors of hard drugs through enhanced collaboration with law enforcement would further validate the hard work being done to divert and rehabilitate the low level offenders through other county diversion efforts. The service area is sauk county, wisconsin, which is the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the sauk county district attorney. The intended beneficiaries are the sauk county district attorneys office by reaching a staffing level commensurate with need, its law enforcement partners by having prosecutorial resources readily available early and often, and the sauk county public by having its prosecutors office innovating strategies to combat drug and violent crime.