BROOKLYN, Wis. — The village of Brooklyn voted 5-2 to abolish its police department Monday night in favor of contracting with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a news release, the village plans to have one full-time deputy from the sheriff’s department who will serve and patrol with the exception of mutual aid requests. The change will go into effect March 6.
Dane County will provide a pool of applicants for the village to interview regarding the position.
Officials said there was a liability risk for the village due to the ongoing climate surrounding policing incidents.
“Contracting with Dane County relieves the burden of potential liability from the Village because the County is the service provider and is legally responsible for those services and insures against them,” village president Brit Springer said in a statement.
The change will also give the village access to more resources, as the patrol deputy will have detectives and specialists who will be available to help with crime-solving. The deputies also have an administrative group comprised of attorneys and senior police management.
“Because of these included benefits our patrol deputy is able to spend their time in the field interacting with and protecting our community,” Springer said. “The administrative burden on the Sheriff patrol deputies is minimized.”
The village said the factors played a large role in the board’s decision to contract its policing with the sheriff’s department.
“We are confident that our decision is the best one for our community going forward as the administrative burdens and potential liability concerns play an ever larger role in policing,” Springer said.
The village has asked those in emergency situations to continue calling 911. If the sheriff’s deputy is not on shift, the call will be routed to the correct county agency for a response.
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