logo
Brief Publisher Logo
FACT BRIEF

Do Wisconsin Republicans want to defund the police?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
View this fact brief on Wisconsin Watch
Copy link
email
Copy featured image
email
NO

Wisconsin Republicans oppose defunding the police, going as far as passing a 2021 bill — vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers — that would have reduced state funding to municipalities that cut police funding.

In 2019, Republican state senators rejected a contract that would have given most Wisconsin State Patrol troopers a 2% pay increase over objections that it slighted existing troopers by boosting starting trooper salaries by 20%. But in 2020 and 2022, the GOP-run Legislature approved hefty raises for the troopers of 9.9% and 8.5% respectively. 

Evers has accused Republicans of indirectly reducing police funding by blocking increases in state-funded shared revenue in his 2021-23 budget. Municipalities use shared revenue to pay for core services including public safety. Shared revenue has remained flat since 2013, while local spending on public safety has increased from $2.2 billion in 2001 to $3.6 billion in 2019, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
AP News Evers OKs use-of-force bill, vetoes plan to defund cities
AP News GOP to reject proposed Wisconsin state troopers pay raise
State of Wisconsin Statement on new State Patrol contract
AP News Evers proposes increase into local funding for public safety
State of Wisconsin Shared revenue payments and local government public safety expenditures
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
FACT BRIEF BY
Brief Publisher Logo
Latest fact briefs from Wisconsin Watch
facebook
twitter
email
email
About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.