Attorney General Kaul announces grants for 48 counties to 'help fight drug trafficking'

MADISON – Attorney General Josh Kaul on Thursday, Feb. 14 announced that law enforcement agencies and multijurisdictional drug enforcement groups in 48 Wisconsin counties will benefit from grants made available by 2017 Wisconsin Act 261.

“These funds will help law enforcement officers who are working to fight drug trafficking,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul in a news release. “While we need to continue expanding access to substance-abuse treatment, we also must ensure that investigators have the resources they need to dismantle drug-trafficking organizations.”

According to the release, the legislation, authored by Rep. John Nygren and former Sen. Leah Vukmir, provided $1 million to the Wisconsin Department of Justice to award law enforcement agencies for the investigation and response to drug trafficking.

“Last session I was proud to author my 29th and 30th HOPE Agenda bills which provided the funding for these grants,” said Rep. John Nygren in the release. “This allowed law enforcement across the state to apply for grant funding to combat high-level drug traffickers who are facilitating the deadly flow of drugs into our state and communities. Because of our bipartisan action, we are providing our law enforcement the tools to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

Funds provided to the applicant organizations will support local law enforcement agencies and multijurisdictional drug enforcement groups in 48 counties.

All organizations that applied were awarded funds up to $50,000. Less than $85,000 in grant funds remained available as of Thursday, and would be distributed through a separate grant process.

A list of grant recipients is below: