Wisconsin’s criminal justice system is central to maintaining public safety, ensuring accountability and rehabilitation for those convicted of crimes, and supporting community well-being. Yet, public understanding of how the system functions – and of trends and challenges within it – remains limited. To address that gap, this report offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of available data from across Wisconsin’s adult justice system and a more limited look at its youth justice system.
In the pages that follow, we explore key questions about how and why people enter and move through the state’s justice system, from crimes and arrests to court proceedings, incarceration, community supervision, and reentry. We also examine how demographic factors such as race, age, sex, and geography factor into the system, how the justice system is financed and staffed, and how related state laws have evolved over time.
Our research for this report involved extensive analysis of data obtained from state agencies and other publicly available state and federal sources. Whenever possible, we broke down these data by demographics and geography. We supplemented our analysis with a review of relevant state and national research and media coverage, and an examination of policy changes that have shaped Wisconsin’s criminal justice landscape since the 1990s.
Our work was supported by an advisory committee comprised of more than 20 individuals representing state and local government agencies, public safety professional associations, academic institutions, formerly incarcerated people and community organizations. We convened this committee several times throughout the research process and leaned on their expertise to shape and refine our analysis and review our findings.
This report serves as a baseline assessment of Wisconsin’s criminal justice landscape. We hope it provides policymakers, stakeholders, and the broader public with a foundational resource to support ongoing efforts toward a more transparent, equitable, and effective justice system. Continue reading…