AG Kaul calls on Legislature to allocate money toward fight against gun violence in Milwaukee

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- State leaders are reacting to a violent weekend in Milwaukee. 

The media asked Attorney General Josh Kaul about the violence in Milwaukee. He says that more funding is needed, that we are getting the criminal justice system we paid for.

More money will be coming into the system soon. Fifty-six million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars was announced last month, more than $16 million of that to reduce a backlog of criminal cases. 

Money is also going to police departments and prosecutors. 

Kaul was at a news conference for a drug buy-back program Monday, April 25. He says some of the ARPA money should start reaching cities and departments soon.

Kaul also wants universal background checks, to prohibit ghost guns, stronger penalties for repeat offenders, and he wants bail reform.

"Strengthen our bail system in Wisconsin. As a federal prosecutor, I worked in a system where somebody who was a danger to their community could be denied release, and I worked in a number of cases where people who were dangerous were simply denied release," he said.

Kaul is calling on the state Legislature to act. He says they don't need to wait for the next budget to allocate some of the $3.8 billion surplus money to fight gun violence in Milwaukee and across the state.