Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Announces New Partnership Between the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network and the Outdoor Advertising Association of Wisconsin

MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today a new partnership between the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network (“WCAN”) and the Outdoor Advertising Association of Wisconsin.

“I am tremendously pleased by new this partnership, in particular the good corporate citizenship,” Attorney General Van Hollen said. “The ability to post selected alerts in this way is invaluable and a step forward for the WCAN. This is yet another example of the WCAN successfully partnering with Wisconsin business to solve and prevent crime.”

Under the agreement, members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Wisconsin will post selected alerts on some of their 99 digital billboards throughout the state. The alerts that are chosen to be posted will be targeted for specific billboards based upon their location.

With the WCAN, law enforcement officers issue alerts at no cost to them either by fax, e-mail or text message to individuals and business owners, who may enroll online to receive alerts at a cost of $12 a year. Thousands of officers across Wisconsin have been trained to use the WCAN.

Since it was unveiled in fall of 2011, the WCAN has helped investigators solve a number of crimes. For instance, on the morning of Thursday, July 19, 2012, the Fitchburg Police Department sent out an alert for a suspect that had allegedly taken money from a change machine at a local bowling alley. Surveillance photos of the suspect were attached to the alert. The alert was received by Dane County sheriff’s deputies, who had just taken into custody a suspect in a theft case in the Town of Blooming Grove. Dane County deputies recognized their suspect as the same suspect in the Fitchburg Police Department WCAN alert and contacted Fitchburg to notify them that their suspect was being held.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has launched, as part of its Public Education Program through the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, radio and TV spots to promote the WCAN. You can watch the TV spot at the following web address: WCAN Audio and Video

To enroll or to learn more about WCAN, visit the website below:

http://www.wisconsincrimealert.gov/

Businesses may contact WCAN coordinator Joe Libowsky at 608-240-3597, or libowskyjh@doj.state.wi.us, for further information.