Wisconsin is one of 13 states that automatically place 17-year-olds in the adult criminal justice system. In the past few years, nearly one-third of states have passed laws to keep more young offenders in the juvenile justice system. But not Wisconsin.

The United States this year has deported more than 250 Haitians, half of whom were jailed without charges in facilities so filthy they pose life-threatening health risks. Some Haitians faced lengthy confinement in U.S. immigration facilities before the deportations. An investigation by the nonprofit Florida Center for Investigative Reporting found evidence that the Obama administration has not followed its own policy of seeking alternatives to deportation when there are serious medical and humanitarian concerns.

Wisconsin’s new law, which allows citizens to carry concealed weapons, has been hailed by the NRA as “one of the nation’s strongest.”

PART THREE OF THREE IN A SERIES
The Center is exploring gaps in Wisconsin’s emergency preparedness to answer the question: A decade after 9/11, are we safer?

A joint project of Gannett Wisconsin Media and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

PART ONE: A decade after 9/11 attacks, Wisconsin’s homeland security funding falls short Aug. 28, 2011.
PART TWO: [...]

In this collaborative project, the Center and Gannett Wisconsin Media explore the question: A decade after 9/11, are we safer? With a three-part series, regional stories from Gannett’s newspapers, interactive multimedia and more.

Federal funding to protect key infrastructure grew after the 9/11 attacks, but has declined as overall homeland security funding has dropped sharply in Wisconsin. That has forced a shift in strategy away from protecting sites to responding more effectively if man-made or natural disasters occur. Part 2 of 3 in the series “Security after 9/11: 10 Years Later.”

More than 50 cases of trafficking or attempted trafficking of minors on Backpage.com have been filed in 22 states in the past three years, says a letter from 45 attorneys general. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen declined to sign the letter, saying he has “a policy of not publicly announcing the details of ongoing investigations or publicly negotiating private sector cooperation.”

Federal funding for much of the state’s homeland security effort, designed to prepare and protect Wisconsin in the event of terrorist attacks and other emergencies, is being drastically cut as Congress focuses on states that are more likely terrorism targets.