The Sconi

To encourage the prevention of violence across the state, Gov. Tony Evers announced a $45 million investment recently.

 Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, along with many anti-violence stakeholders, were present during the announcement.

"BREAKING: Today, I'm proud to announce we're investing $45 million into making our communities safer through violence prevention and victim services efforts across Wisconsin. Like the pandemic, this is another public health crisis that deserves our attention and our action. [About] $25 million of these funds will support research, data collection, education and community engagement efforts around violence prevention. In addition, $20 million will go toward victim services to meet the increased demand while ensuring culturally responsive programming. Violence and its effects on kids, families and communities are not inevitable. We're working to build the future we want for our kids and our state, and that means working to address the cycle of violence and crime to ensure safe schools, safe streets and safe communities," Evers tweeted.

The $45 million will come from American Rescue Plan funds. The Director for Violence Prevention Policy and Engagement at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Reggie Moore, said that the money for victims' services would go a long way in providing emotional and economic support to victims.

Violent crime negatively affects communities in multiple ways. Neighborhoods affected by violent crime are more likely to experience emotional distress, such as depression, anxiety and PTSD, and they are also less likely to engage in physical activity through walking or biking. Violent crimes also financially burden families (hospital and burial costs) and health care systems – the average estimated cost of a homicide is $9 million, the estimated cost of a rape or sexual assault is $241,000 and the estimated cost of an aggravated assault is $107,000.

Violent crime in Wisconsin is slightly lower than the national average, with 293 violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) per 100,000 residents in Wisconsin, compared to 379 violent crimes per 100,000 people nationally in 2019.