Chapter 165

165.83(1)(b) (b) “Law enforcement agency” means a governmental unit of one or more persons employed full time by the state or a political subdivision of the state for the purpose of preventing and detecting crime and enforcing state laws or local ordinances, employees of which unit are authorized to make arrests for crimes while acting within the scope of their authority.

165.83(1)(c) (c) “Offense” means any of the following:

165.83(1)(c)1. 1. An act that is committed by a person who has attained the age of 17 and that is a felony or a misdemeanor.

165.83(1)(c)2. 2. An act that is committed by a person who has attained the age of 10 but who has not attained the age of 17 and that would be a felony or misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

165.83(1)(c)3. 3. An act that is committed by any person and that is a violation of a city, county, village or town ordinance.

165.83(1)(d) (d) “Reservation lands” has the meaning given in s. 165.92 (1) (a).

165.83(1)(e) (e) “Tribal law enforcement agency” means any of the following:

165.83(1)(e)1. 1. An agency of a tribe that is established for the purpose of preventing and detecting crime on the reservation or trust lands of the tribe and enforcing the tribe’s laws or ordinances, that employs full time one or more persons who are granted law enforcement and arrest powers under s. 165.92 (2) (a), and that was created by a tribe that agrees that its law enforcement agency will perform the duties required of the agency under this section and s. 165.84.

165.83(1)(e)2. 2. The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, if the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission agrees to perform the duties required under this section and s. 165.84.

165.83(1)(f) (f) “Tribe” has the meaning given in s. 165.92 (1) (c).

165.83(1)(g) (g) “Trust lands” has the meaning given in s. 165.92 (1) (d).

165.83(2) (2) The department shall:

165.83(2)(a) (a) Obtain and file fingerprints, descriptions, photographs and any other available identifying data on persons who have been arrested or taken into custody in this state:

165.83(2)(a)1. 1. For an offense which is a felony or which would be a felony if committed by an adult.

165.83(2)(a)2. 2. For an offense which is a misdemeanor, which would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult or which is a violation of an ordinance, and the offense involves burglary tools, commercial gambling, dealing in gambling devices, contributing to the delinquency of a child, dealing in stolen property, controlled substances or controlled substance analogs under ch. 961, firearms, dangerous weapons, explosives, pandering, prostitution, sex offenses where children are victims, or worthless checks.

165.83(2)(a)3. 3. For an offense charged or alleged as disorderly conduct but which relates to an act connected with one or more of the offenses under subd. 2.

165.83(2)(a)4. 4. As a fugitive from justice.

165.83(2)(a)5. 5. For any other offense designated by the attorney general.

165.83(2)(b) (b) Accept for filing fingerprints and other identifying data, taken at the discretion of the law enforcement or tribal law enforcement agency involved, on persons arrested or taken into custody for offenses other than those listed in par. (a).

165.83(2)(c) (c) Obtain and file fingerprints and other available identifying data on unidentified human corpses found in this state.

165.83(2)(d) (d) Obtain and file information relating to identifiable stolen or lost property.

165.83(2)(e) (e) Obtain and file a copy or detailed description of each arrest warrant issued in this state for the offenses under par. (a) or s. 346.63 (1) or (5) but not served because the whereabouts of the person named on the warrant is unknown or because that person has left the state. All available identifying data shall be obtained with the copy of the warrant, including any information indicating that the person named on the warrant may be armed, dangerous or possessed of suicidal tendencies.

165.83(2)(f) (f) Collect information concerning the legal action taken in connection with offenses committed in this state from the inception of the complaint to the final discharge of the defendant and such other information as may be useful in the study of crime and the administration of justice. The department may determine any other information to be obtained regarding crime records.

165.83(2)(g) (g) Furnish all reporting officials with forms and instructions which specify in detail the nature of the information required under pars. (a) to (f) and any other matters which facilitate collection.

165.83(2)(h) (h) Cooperate with and assist all law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies in the state in the establishment of a state system of criminal identification and in obtaining fingerprints and other identifying data on all persons described in pars. (a), (b) and (c).

165.83(2)(i) (i) Offer assistance and, when practicable, instructions to all local and tribal law enforcement agencies in establishing efficient local and tribal bureaus of identification and records systems.

165.83(2)(j) (j) Compare the fingerprints and descriptions that are received from law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies with the fingerprints and descriptions already on file and, if the person arrested or taken into custody is a fugitive from justice or has a criminal record, immediately notify the law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies concerned and supply copies of the criminal record to these agencies.

165.83(2)(k) (k) Make available all statistical information obtained to the governor and the legislature.

165.83(2)(m) (m) Prepare and publish reports and releases, at least once a year, containing the statistical information gathered under this section and presenting an accurate picture of the operation of the agencies of criminal justice.

165.83(2)(n) (n) Make available upon request, to all local, state and tribal law enforcement agencies in this state, to all federal law enforcement and criminal identification agencies, and to state law enforcement and criminal identification agencies in other states, any information in the law enforcement files of the department which will aid these agencies in the performance of their official duties. For this purpose the department shall operate on a 24-hour a day basis, 7 days a week. The information may also be made available to any other agency of this state or political subdivision of this state, and to any other federal agency, upon assurance by the agency concerned that the information is to be used for official purposes only.

165.83(2)(p) (p) Cooperate with other agencies of this state, tribal law enforcement agencies and the national crime information center systems of the F.B.I. in developing and conducting an interstate, national and international system of criminal identification, records and statistics.

165.83 History History: 1971 c. 219; 1983 a. 27, 535; 1985 a. 29; 1993 a. 407; 1995 a. 448; 1997 a. 27; 2007 a. 27; 2009 a. 402.

165.83 Note NOTE: 1993 Wis. Act 407, which creates sub. (1) (d) to (g) and amends sub. (2), contains extensive explanatory notes.

165.83 Annotation Pursuant to sub. (2), identification records should be made by local law enforcement agencies of juveniles arrested or taken into custody for confidential reporting to the Department of Justice. 62 Atty. Gen. 45.

165.84 165.84 Cooperation in criminal identification, records and statistics.

165.84(1) (1) All persons in charge of law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies shall obtain, or cause to be obtained, the fingerprints in duplicate, according to the fingerprint system of identification established by the director of the F.B.I., full face, profile and full length photographs, and other available identifying data, of each person arrested or taken into custody for an offense of a type designated in s. 165.83 (2) (a), of all persons arrested or taken into custody as fugitives from justice, and fingerprints in duplicate and other identifying data of all unidentified human corpses in their jurisdictions, but photographs need not be taken if it is known that photographs of the type listed, taken within the previous year, are on file at the department. Fingerprints and other identifying data of persons arrested or taken into custody for offenses other than those designated in s. 165.83 (2) (a) may be taken at the discretion of the law enforcement or tribal law enforcement agency concerned. Any person arrested or taken into custody and subsequently released without charge, or cleared of the offense through court proceedings, shall have any fingerprint record taken in connection therewith removed from the department’s records upon request.

165.84(2) (2) Fingerprints and other identifying data required to be taken under sub. (1) shall be forwarded to the department within 24 hours after taking for filing and classification, but the period of 24 hours may be extended to cover any intervening holiday or weekend. Photographs taken shall be forwarded at the discretion of the law enforcement or tribal law enforcement agency concerned, but, if not forwarded, the fingerprint record shall be marked “Photo available” and the photographs shall be forwarded subsequently if the department so requests.

165.84(3) (3) All persons in charge of law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies shall forward to the department copies or detailed descriptions of the arrest warrants and the identifying data described in s. 165.83 (2) (e) immediately upon determination of the fact that the warrant cannot be served for the reasons stated. If the warrant is subsequently served or withdrawn, the law enforcement or tribal law enforcement agency concerned must immediately notify the department of the service or withdrawal. In any case, the law enforcement or tribal law enforcement agency concerned must annually, no later than January 31 of each year, confirm to the department all arrest warrants of this type which continue to be outstanding.

165.84(4) (4) All persons in charge of state penal and correctional institutions shall obtain fingerprints, according to the fingerprint system of identification established by the director of the F.B.I., and full face and profile photographs of all persons received on commitment to these institutions. The prints and photographs so taken shall be forwarded to the department, together with any other identifying data requested, within 10 days after the arrival at the institution of the person committed. Full length photographs in release dress shall be taken immediately prior to the release of these persons from these institutions. Immediately after release, these photographs shall be forwarded to the department.

165.84(5) (5) All persons in charge of law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies, all clerks of court, all municipal judges where they have no clerks, all persons in charge of state and county penal and correctional institutions, and all persons in charge of state and county probation, extended supervision and parole offices, shall supply the department with the information described in s. 165.83 (2) (f) on the basis of the forms and instructions to be supplied by the department under s. 165.83 (2) (g).

165.84(6) (6) All persons in charge of law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies in this state shall furnish the department with any other identifying data required in accordance with guidelines established by the department. All law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies and penal and correctional institutions in this state having criminal identification files shall cooperate in providing to the department copies of such items in these files as will aid in establishing the nucleus of the state criminal identification file.

165.84(7) (7) 

165.84(7)(ab) (ab) In this subsection, “violent crime” means any of the following:

165.84(7)(ab)1. 1. A felony violation of s. 940.01, 940.05, 940.198 (2), 940.21, 940.225 (1), (2), or (3), 940.235, 940.30, 940.302 (2), 940.305, 940.31, 940.32 (2), (2e), or (2m), 940.43, 940.45, 941.20, 941.21, 941.327, 943.02, 943.06, 943.10, 943.23 (2), 943.231 (1), 943.32, 948.02 (1) or (2), 948.025, 948.03 (2) (a) or (c) or (5) (a) 1., 2., 3., or 4., 948.05, 948.051, 948.055, 948.07, 948.08, 948.085, 948.095, or 948.30 (2).

165.84(7)(ab)2. 2. A felony violation of s. 940.02, 940.03, 940.06, 940.07, 940.08, 940.09 (1c), 940.10, 940.19 (2), (4), (5), or (6), 940.195 (2), (4), (5), or (6), 940.20, 940.201 (2), 940.203 (2), 940.204, 940.205 (2), 940.207 (2), 940.208, 940.23, 941.30, or 948.03 (3) or (5) (a) 4.

165.84(7)(ab)3. 3. A felony if a penalty enhancer specified in s. 939.621 could be imposed.

165.84(7)(ab)4. 4. The solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt, under s. 939.30, 939.31, or 939.32, to commit a violation under subd. 1.

165.84(7)(ah) (ah) Subject to rules promulgated by the department of justice under s. 165.76 (4), all persons in charge of law enforcement and tribal law enforcement agencies shall obtain, when the individual’s fingerprints or other identifying data are obtained, a biological specimen for deoxyribonucleic acid analysis from each individual arrested for a violent crime and each individual taken into custody for a juvenile offense that would be a violent crime if committed by an adult in this state. The law enforcement agency shall submit the biological specimen to the crime laboratories in a manner specified in the rules under s. 165.76 (4).

165.84(7)(am) (am) After receiving an individual’s specimen submitted under par. (ah), the crime laboratories shall do one of the following:

165.84(7)(am)1m. 1m. If, within the time limit under subd. 2m., the court notifies the crime laboratories under par. (bm) that any of the following applies, analyze the deoxyribonucleic acid in the specimen and include the individual’s deoxyribonucleic acid profile in the data bank under s. 165.77 (3):

165.84(7)(am)1m.a. a. The individual was arrested, or the juvenile was taken into custody, under a warrant.

165.84(7)(am)1m.b. b. The court has made a finding that there is probable cause that the individual committed a violent crime or that the juvenile committed an offense that would be a violent crime if committed by an adult in this state.

165.84(7)(am)1m.c. c. The individual failed to appear at the initial appearance or preliminary examination or the person waived the preliminary examination.

165.84(7)(am)1m.d. d. The individual failed to appear for a delinquency proceeding under ch. 938.

165.84(7)(am)2m. 2m. If, one year after the date the biological sample was submitted under par. (ah), the court has not notified the crime laboratories under par. (bm) that subd. 1m. a., b., c., or d. applies to the individual, destroy the biological sample.

165.84(7)(bm) (bm) The court shall notify the crime laboratories if par. (am) 1m. a., b., c., or d. applies to an individual who has been arrested.

165.84(7)(c) (c)

165.84(7)(c)1. 1. No biological specimen obtained under par. (ah) may be subject to analysis except by the crime laboratories as provided under s. 165.77.

165.84(7)(c)2. 2. Biological specimens obtained under this section may be used only as provided under s. 165.77.

165.84 History History: 1977 c. 305 s. 64; 1985 a. 29; 1993 a. 407; 1997 a. 283; 2013 a. 20, 214; 2015 a. 366; 2021 a. 76, 209, 242; 2023 a. 10.

165.84 Annotation The Department of Justice has no statutory authority to administratively append unrelated charges to arrest records so as to prevent expungement under sub. (1) of arrests that do not result in a criminal charge. Hall v. Department of Justice, 2020 WI App 12, 391 Wis. 2d 378, 941 N.W.2d 825, 18-2274.

165.845 165.845 Collection and reporting of crime and criminal justice data.

165.845(1g) (1g) In this section:

165.845(1g)(a) (a) “Great bodily harm” has the meaning given in s. 939.22 (14).

165.845(1g)(m) (m) “Use-of-force incident” means any of the following:

165.845(1g)(m)1. 1. Any incident involving the discharge of a firearm by a law enforcement officer at or in the direction of a civilian.

165.845(1g)(m)2. 2. Any incident involving the discharge of a firearm by a civilian at or in the direction of a law enforcement officer.

165.845(1g)(m)3. 3. Any incident in which an action taken by a law enforcement officer as a response to an act of resistance results in great bodily harm or death.

165.845(1g)(m)4. 4. Any incident in which an act of resistance taken by a civilian against a law enforcement officer results in great bodily harm or death.

165.845(1r) (1r) The department of justice shall:

165.845(1r)(a) (a) Collect information concerning the number and nature of offenses known to have been committed in this state, concerning sexual assault kits, as defined in s. 165.775 (1) (e), collected in this state, and concerning such other information as may be useful in the study of crime and the administration of justice. The department of justice may determine any other information to be obtained regarding crime, evidence, and justice system data or statistics. The information shall include all of the following:

165.845(1r)(a)1. 1. Data requested by federal agencies under the U.S. department of justice, including but not limited to the federal bureau of investigation under its system of uniform crime reports for the United States.

165.845(1r)(a)2. 2. For any use-of-force incident, all of the following information:

165.845(1r)(a)2.a. a. The gender, race, ethnicity, and age of each person who was shot at, injured, or killed.

165.845(1r)(a)2.b. b. The date, time, and location of the incident.

165.845(1r)(a)2.c. c. The reason for the law enforcement officer’s initial contact with the civilian.

165.845(1r)(a)2.d. d. Whether any civilian involved in the incident was armed and, if he or she was armed, the type of weapon that the civilian had.

165.845(1r)(a)2.e. e. The type of resistance used against the law enforcement officer by the civilian, the type of action taken in response by the officer, and if applicable, the types of weapons used.

165.845(1r)(a)2.f. f. The number of law enforcement officers involved in the incident.

165.845(1r)(a)2.g. g. The number of civilians involved in the incident.

165.845(1r)(a)2.h. h. A brief description regarding any acts of resistance that precipitated the incident and the circumstances surrounding the incident, including perceptions on behavior or mental disorders.

165.845(1r)(a)2.i. i. Any other information that is required to comply with the reporting standards of the National Use-Of-Force Data Collection system administered by the federal bureau of investigation.

165.845(1r)(b) (b) Furnish all reporting officials with instructions that specify the nature of the information required under par. (a), a simple format in which to submit the information, the time it is to be forwarded, the process for submitting the information, the method of classifying it, and any other matters that facilitate collection and compilation. The format provided under this paragraph shall, to the greatest extent feasible, minimize the time required by each law enforcement officer to submit the required information.

165.845(1r)(c) (c) Maintain a statistical analysis center to serve as a clearing house of justice system data and information and conduct justice system research and data analysis under this section.

165.845(1r)(d) (d) Publish an annual report using the information collected under par. (a) 2. The report may be published electronically on the department of justice’s Internet site in an interactive format and shall include, at a minimum, all information that is reported to the department by local law enforcement agencies under par. (a) 2.

165.845(1r)(e) (e) Publish data at least annually on law enforcement agency compliance with the reporting requirement under par. (a) relating to sexual assault kits.

165.845(2) (2) All persons in charge of law enforcement agencies and other criminal and juvenile justice system agencies shall supply the department of justice with the information described in sub. (1r) (a) in the format specified by the department under sub. (1r) (b). The department may conduct an audit to determine the accuracy of the data and other information it receives from law enforcement agencies and other criminal and juvenile justice system agencies.

165.845 History History: 2013 a. 20 ss. 168 to 170, 172, 1938, 1939; 2021 a. 50, 116.

165.85 165.85 Law enforcement standards board.