We have been bombarded with campaign ads about police funding and it has caught the attention of voters.
“I think they (the police) should be held accountable if they’re in the wrong. But, at the same time, I think we have to support them a lot more,” said Mike Malett of Waukesha County.
“We don’t want a lawless society. Nobody wins in a lawless society. I think there is a way to support police, but there is also a way to support our kids that may need the infrastructure to thrive,” said Devin Reese of Milwaukee County.
"Defund the police" is the idea of redirecting money away from police departments and giving it to other government agencies.
It is often mistaken as eliminating funding for law enforcement.
Our 'Truth Be Told' team has found mixed viewpoints on police funding from Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes.
In a U.S. Senate Debate on TMJ4 Oct. 13, Barnes was asked to set the record straight.
“This is about making sure law enforcement and communities have strong relationships. This is also about making sure we do the things we know prevent crime from happening in the first place. Investing in good schools, and good paying jobs and doing the work to get rid of poverty,” Barnes told a packed Varsity Theatre at Marquette University.
In 2012, while running for a Wisconsin Assembly seat, Barnes voluntarily filled out a survey for votesmart.org. It is a non-profit, non-partisan research firm that collects information about political candidates.
Under spending, Barnes indicated a slight decrease in funding for law enforcement and corrections.
In a 2020 interview with PBS Wisconsin, Barnes referred to police budgets as "over bloated" but said funding should not be thrown out completely.
Since Oct. of 2021, Gov. Tony Evers has allocated more than $100 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for crime prevention and safety, including over $5 million for the Milwaukee Police Department.
So, truth be told: Lt. Gov. Barnes says he supports the governor's effort, but his office does not have any authority over how these funds are disbursed.
We reached out to the Barnes campaign for a response.
“As independent fact-checkers have verified, and Ron Johnson himself conceded, Lt. Governor Barnes doesn’t support defunding the police, and has delivered millions in additional funding for law enforcement and crime prevention in Wisconsin,” wrote Maddy McDaniel, spokesperson.
You can watch Truth Be Told stories every Tuesday on TMJ4 News at 6 p.m. leading up to Election Day on Nov. 8.