DOJ To Hire New Drug Agents, Open Crime Lab For Opioid Testing

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is opening its crime labs to local law enforcement looking to test for opioids.

Attorney General Brad Schimel announced Tuesday officers may now schedule drug tests with Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory facilities.

Schimel said that would reduce the risk for officers who may inadvertently be exposed to potent synthetic drugs such as fentanyl by testing at crime scenes or evidence storage rooms.

“We’ve seen this happen about a half dozen times across the nation,” Schimel said. “And now we’ve had our own here in Wisconsin, with a Menasha officer who appears to have ingested a powerful opiate at a crime scene.”

The officer was treated for symptoms of fentanyl exposure at a local hospital and released, according to the Menasha Police Department.

Schimel also said the DOJ will hire four new agents to address drug trafficking.

One of the bills signed by Gov. Scott Walker this week provides $420,000 a year to fund four new drug agent positions in the Division of Criminal Investigation.

The proposal came out of the Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse.

Schimel said the new agents will focus on drug traffickers operating in the state but addressing the supply of opioids is only part of the solution.

“More drug agents doesn’t solve the problem alone,” he said. “We have to address the demand on the prevention side. We also have to address those who are already addicted and get them into treatment and get them healthy again, before they do eventually get to a fatal overdose or end up in prison.”