Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen introduced his initiative for a Wisconsin Crime Alert Network Wednesday to reduce statewide crime, calling the plan ?nimble and proactive.?

The program would supply electronic information on criminal activity throughout the state. Law enforcement officials would provide participating businesses with messages regarding criminal activity, trends and missing persons.

?The Wisconsin Crime Alert Network is a tremendous opportunity to make Wisconsin safer,? Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, said.

The Wisconsin Crime Alert Network is grounded on civic responsibility and the idea that participating businesses will use the criminal alerts to watch out for and apprehend suspects, according to Van Hollen.

By using new technology to increase awareness of criminal activity and to alert the community of suspects, the network ?will give us a leg up on fighting crime,? said Sen. Jeffrey Plale, D-South Milwaukee.

The infrastructure and template already exist for the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network, according to Van Hollen, and participation would be completely voluntary and open to private businesses at a fee of approximately $10 annually.

Van Hollen added he expects the network to be entirely self-funding and that it has ?no anticipated opposition, and no reason for opposition.?

For the past 12 years, Minnesota has employed a similar Crime Alert Network, made up of 10,000 private businesses. In 2007, a perpetrator brought abducted children from Wisconsin into Minnesota. Members of the state?s Crime Alert Network quickly recognized the suspect and were able to recover the children, demonstrating the effectiveness of the program.

In order to kick off this program, the Wisconsin Legislature must approve the state to charge participating businesses the nominal fee that will cover program costs.

The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee heard Van Hollen?s testimony Wednesday in support of legislation that would approve the Crime Alert Network. The bill is sponsored by both Bies and Plale.

Bies said he expects that there is time in the remaining four weeks of Senate to pass legislation authorizing the Crime Alert Network.

Van Hollen said he is confident the Crime Alert Network is backed by ?great community support, great law enforcement support, and great bipartisan and bicameral support.? The legislation is unique in that it brings members of the business community, law enforcement and the greater community together in order to reduce crime. The attorney general continued to explain benefits of the Crime Alert Network, adding it goes ?beyond civic responsibility to protect the businesses themselves.?

Law enforcement officials, members of the business community, and state Democrats and Republicans hail the program as an effective piece of legislation, and hope to see its approval in the Senate.

?There is no such thing as a no-brainer, but [the network] comes close,? Plale said.