Various national and state reports have documented and quantified Wisconsin's growing disparity between white and minority citizens in the criminal justice system. A report recently issued by the Human Rights Watch and the national Sentencing Project showed that African-Americans received prison sentences for drug crimes 42 times more frequently than whites. And in Wisconsin's prisons, nearly half of inmates are African-American, yet Blacks represent just 6 percent of Wisconsin’s population. Racial disparities permeate the entire criminal justice continuum, in the number of arrests, cases charged, sentences and probation and parole revocations. In some offense categories, like drug arrests and minor offenses, the disparity is more pronounced, while in others, like sentences for serious offenses, the disparity is reduced.
Governor Jim Doyle established the Commission on Reducing Racial Disparities in the Wisconsin Justice System to study and recommend solutions for racial disparities in each step of the criminal justice continuum. In 
February 2008, the Commission submitted a report of findings and a list of recommendations to the governor.
In May, Governor Doyle created the Racial Disparities Oversight Commission to ensure that recommendations from the report are implemented and effective in reducing disparities. The Oversight Commission is chaired by Madison Police Chief Noble Wray and charged with “exercise[ing] oversight and advocacy concerning programs and policies to reduce disparate treatment of people of color across the spectrum of the criminal justice system…” Chief Wray is joined on the commission by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, Dane County Circuit Court Judge James Martin and Jennifer Bias, Affirmative Action Officer for the Office of the Wisconsin State Public Defender.
The Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission has also been studying and working to reduce the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system. Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) projects have been established in six counties to gathered detailed race data at each of nine stages in the juvenile justice system. Local community justice councils then use these data to craft programs to reduce the disparity. Please visit OJA's DMC page to learn more about the projects.
2000 Task Force on Racial Profiling
In 1999, Governor Tommy Thompson created the Task Force on Racial Profiling to investigate racially-motivated discretion during law enforcement traffic stops. The Task Force, led by Judge Maxine White, issued its final report in November 2000. Governor Scott McCallum accepted the report and enacted its recommendations through executive order later that year.
For more information on the state's efforts to reduce racial disparities, please contact Mr. Lindsey Draper at 414-550-9731 or Lindsey.Draper@wisconsin.gov.
Resources:
Racial Profiling Report 2000 - Task Force on Racial Profiling
