The Shawano, Wisconsin, Police Department (SPD) has a staff of 23 people, including 21 sworn officers, serving a population of over 9,000 individuals. Shawano is a hub for area commerce and sees a daily population influx due to community resources, economic development, and recreational activities on Shawano Lake. Like most cities in the United States, Shawano has been impacted by illicit drug use, narcotics-related crimes, and the medical and legal costs of these challenges. SPD also investigates sexual assault, sexual abuse of a child or adult, physical abuse or neglect, and internet crimes against children, often related to narcotics.

SPD intends to fund a detective position dedicated solely to investigating violent crime and narcotics trafficking and use. Currently, these categories comprise approximately 40% of SPD’s investigations. The new detective position will identify individuals and groups of individuals involved in violent crimes, including aggravated assault, child sexual abuse, narcotics-related criminal activity, and related property crimes. SPD conducted a pilot program for this position to show the position’s effectiveness before applying for the Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) grant. This pilot program showed promising success, resulting in more than 60 investigations and 50 arrests, and almost 200 charges filed in 3 months. With this new position, SPD hopes to build trust with community members, increase patrols in hot spot areas, strengthen and establish community partnerships, enhance crime prevention efforts, and realize a sustained reduction in related violent and narcotics-related crime.