Intimidation of witnesses in violent crime cases is to be more aggressively prosecuted in Milwaukee County over the summer due to a $50,000 grant given to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Thursday.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has been working with Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm to identify how funds might be used to address the issue of witness protection. The Office of Justice Assistance awarded the grant to the WDOJ to aid Milwaukee prosecutors in a pilot program to protect witnesses needed to aid court cases, according to Special Assistant Attorney General Kevin St. John.

Deputy District Attorney in Milwaukee Kent Lovern said witness intimidation and threats have gotten worse recently and need aggressive action.

“We think it’s not being addressed in our community at all. We feel this is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed,” Lovern said. “We are grateful to Attorney General Van Hollen and the Department of Justice to go ahead and get us this grant.”

Unlike many other counties, Milwaukee has seven law enforcement officers who work in the district attorney’s office. According to Lovern, six of these investigators will be working full time on witness protection through the program, which should be in effect by Memorial Day if not earlier.

Ideally, the program will be something that can be implemented in other areas around the state if it is found to be effective, St. John said. Prosecutors rely on witnesses to prove many cases that involve violent crimes, like homicide and sexual assault.

“Witnesses who are intimidated do not appear in court. It puts the whole criminal justice system at risk,” St. John said. “In order to prove crimes, most of the time you have to have witnesses. If those who are making the threats are not addressed in a timely fashion, they can interfere with the prosecution.”

If successful, Milwaukee prosecutors hope to use the program to get permanent funding from state and local government.

“I’m confident in the ability of our team to generate prosecutions … to send a message to those in the community who attempt to hijack cases happening in our county,” Lovern said. “I’m confident in their ability to make this a successful pilot project and make the case that this is something that needs to be funded.”

Milwaukee County used to have a very effective witness protection program run by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, but that program was stopped in 2003 due to funding issues, according to Lovern. Since then, there has been no protection program in the county.

“This is one of those questions about which government body will bear responsibility for this,” Lovern said. “The state should bear a good portion of the funding for witness protection. It can’t be seen as something that is just a Milwaukee problem.”

Lovern said witness protection is a problem not only in Wisconsin but across the nation. There has been a push at the national level to get funding for these types of programs in large cities like Milwaukee, he added.