Local public safety officials will be better able to combat crimes such as cyberstalking, domestic abuse, and gang violence under two bills passed by unanimous voice vote recently in the State Senate.
State Sen. André Jacque of De Pere, the author of the legislation, said he drafted the measures at the request of victims, law enforcement, and prosecutors to give local authorities more options for charging these criminal offenses appropriately and closing loopholes.
One of the two bills, entitled the Cyberstalking Protection Act, updates current legislation to include text messages, emails, web applications, and social media into the list of ways people can be charged for stalking and harassing others.
Meanwhile, the People and Property Protection Act allows prosecutors to bring felony charges in battery cases to make sure the punishment fits the crime.
The bills now head to the State Assembly.
An Assembly version of The Cyberstalking Protection Act also cleared the committee in that chamber unanimously last week.
