Wisconsin concealed carry permit records to be kept secret from public

[undeterred]

Law enforcement can request data in limited circumstances

Wisconsin will keep records of residents who could be carrying a concealed weapon under wraps after the law takes effect Tuesday. The law requires the Department of Justice to keep a computerized record of people who have been issued a concealed carry permit. But the DOJ is prohibited from releasing those records to the public. Law enforcement also cannot have access to complete records. "We can't keep our own database," said Lt. Jim Runge of the Green Bay Police Department. "But we really think that we're not going to encounter this a lot."

Green Bay police plan to continue their practice of making note of offenders who are known to carry a weapon, Runge said. Dana Brueck, spokeswoman for the DOJ, said keeping individual notes of offenders who carry weapons is permitted under the concealed carry law. "If police have repeated encounters with an individual, they can keep track of who's known to carry a weapon, but cannot keep records of who has a license. … They would keep notes that he or she carries a weapon regardless of whether the individual has a CCW license," Brueck said.

The law prevents police from creating or accessing records that are based on concealed carry permits, Brueck said. Law enforcement can request permit information from the DOJ in limited circumstances. Those situations include confirming a permit is valid, verifying someone has a permit if he or she is unable to show it, and investigating if someone made false statements in a permit application.

However, officers are prohibited from keeping the information received from the DOJ. The only concealed carry report that the DOJ will release will be a statistical report that will include the number of applications the DOJ receives and how many permits the department issues, denies, suspends and revokes, as well as reasons for denials. It will be submitted to the Legislature and the governor by March 1 each year, according to the DOJ.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20111030/GPG0101/110300591/

[Yon_Yonson]

1. Conceal and carry is just an absolutely bad fucking idea