Dane County Receives Critical Grant to Help Ongoing Efforts to Increase Public Safety on Roads
June 29, 2011
Joshua Wescott, Office of the County Executive (608) 266-9069 or cell (608) 669-5606
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced that the county will receive important funding to aid local law enforcement investigations into fatal crashes, increasing safety on county roads. This year the county has been awarded $150,000 from the state Department of Transportation to fund the county’s Critical Traffic Investigation and Prosecution team.
“Dane County has been a pioneer in Wisconsin for this important partnership,” said Parisi. “Giving law enforcement the tools they need to fully investigate these unfortunate and sometimes fatal crashes will help make our roads safer for residents and visitors.”
The County’s Critical Traffic Investigation and Prosecution team includes a dedicated prosecutor responsible for ensuring thorough investigations, and is comprised of members of the Dane County Sheriff’s department, the Dane County District Attorney’s office, the Dane County Coroner’s office, the City of Madison Police Department, the Wisconsin State Patrol, and Victim Services.
This critical partnership has helped local law enforcement develop comprehensive protocols for consistent and efficient response to vehicular crime and to provide victims on the scene of a crime with immediate trauma services. The grant also provides the Critical Traffic Investigation and Prosecution team with additional resources to collect data on all fatal and serious injury crashes that occur in Dane County to further implement safety measures and best practices.
“The unfortunate reality is that every year hundreds of crashes occur on Dane County roadways, some with serious injury or fatalities,” said Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney. “Having additional resources to work collaboratively with our criminal justice partners, allows us to respond to and investigate vehicular crimes and has been critical in our ongoing efforts to keep our roadways safe for all.”
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne noted that the grant allows for the continuation of a dedicated prosecutor in the Dane County District Attorney’s Office who will work to develop a protocol to be used statewide while focusing on the investigation and prosecution of crashes along with training law enforcement and prosecutors. “This is a great opportunity for Dane County to help law enforcement and prosecutors statewide keep our roadways safe and hold those accountable who break the law in a way that can be so devastating to our families and communities,” Ozanne said.
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