Wisconsin fusion centers to launch Web site in support of awareness program

Madison, WI

Two information fusion centers in Wisconsin will launch a new Web site aimed at getting tips from the public for local police and DHS, as the agency expands its “If you see something, say something” awareness program in the state.

The effort was announced on Sept. 28 as DHS secretary Janet Napolitano as she unveiled new “If you see something, say something” activities in the state.

The Wisconsin effort, said Napolitano, is the fifth time she has personally announced a new partner in the initiative, joining Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, state attorney general J.B Van Hollen, Major General Donald Dunbar and law enforcement and homeland security officials at a ceremony in Madison.

The awareness campaign encourages citizens to speak up if they see something that seems out of place and provides information about how to report suspicious activities. Wisconsin, said Napolitano, will take a number of innovative steps to help deliver messages to its more than 5.7 million residents, including the new fusion center Web site.

With the help of the Milwaukee Police Department, Napolitano said the state’s two fusion centers plan to launch a new website, WiWatch.org, where additional information about the campaign is posted and where residents can report suspicious activity.

Wisconsin’s campaign is being coordinated by the state’s two fusion centers – the Southeastern Wisconsin Threat Analysis Center (STAC) in Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Statewide Information Center (WSIC) in Madison, said Gov. Walker in a statemnt.  Both fusion centers serve local, county and state public safety customers by sharing intelligence, offering training on the behaviors and indicators of terrorism, protecting Wisconsin critical infrastructure through risk assessments, and analyzing national threat information as it relates to Wisconsin, he said.  

Additionally, Napolitano said “If You See Something, Say Something” messages will appear on digital billboards on major highways and thruways across the state, including I-94, WIS 57, and WIS 164, from Oshkosh to Westbend to Jefferson and a variety of other cities,  according to Napolitano.  Awareness program posters will also be hung in a variety of venues around the state to engage a host of sectors and communities throughout the state. In Madison, said Napolitano, posters with photos of the state capitol will be on display, as well as posters with images of Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Pictures of Miller Park and Summerfest will also accompany these materials in Milwaukee, she added.

Television and radio public service announcements are also set to air later this year.