FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In response to a Dane County Circuit Court ruling on April 28, 2026, requiring the Wisconsin Department of Justice to release a statewide dataset identifying more than 16,000 current and former law enforcement officers—including names, dates of birth, and employment histories—Jim Palmer, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, issued the following statement:
As the state’s largest law enforcement group, the Wisconsin Professional Police Association is deeply concerned by the Dane County Circuit Court’s decision requiring the release of a statewide dataset identifying more than 16,000 law enforcement officers.
While we recognize and respect the important role that transparency plays in maintaining public trust, this ruling goes beyond transparency and raises serious concerns about officer safety, privacy, and the unintended consequences of aggregating sensitive information into a single, easily accessible database.
Law enforcement officers already serve under significant public scrutiny. Compiling names, dates of birth, and employment histories into a centralized index creates a resource that could be misused to target officers and their families, facilitate identity theft, or enable harassment. Even if individual data points may exist in isolated contexts, their aggregation fundamentally changes the nature of the information and the risks associated with it.
This decision also risks undermining recruitment and retention efforts at a time when agencies across Wisconsin are already facing staffing challenges. It may further erode confidence in established regulatory systems that already exist to ensure accountability and prevent misconduct within the profession.
We expect this decision will be appealed and remain hopeful that a higher court will carefully balance the legitimate interest in transparency with the equally important need to protect the safety, privacy, and effectiveness of Wisconsin’s law enforcement officers.
The WPPA will continue to advocate for policies that support both public accountability and the men and women who serve our communities every day.