Marathon County

Marathon County

Marathon County is 1,576 square miles in size and has a population of approximately 136,000 citizensIn 2014, the Marathon County District Attorney’s office opened 4,438 criminal files. Charges were filed in 3,484 of those files, with 1099 felony cases and 2385 misdemeanor cases. That same year, 5,042 individuals were booked into the Marathon County Jail and held for some time period.  2,755 were held for initial appearance and 986 were released at booking.   Approximately 575 individuals are placed on probation each year in Marathon County.

EBDM Stakeholders

The EBDM policy team was formed in 2015 within the existing Marathon County Criminal Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC), which was established in 1994. The principal mission of the CJCC/EBDM team is to create a system that will reduce community harm by enhancing public safety, assure equal justice, be efficient and cost effective and result in a healthy community. 

The EBDM policy team is comprised of a variety of stakeholders including:

1. Marathon County Clerk of Court

2. Circuit Court Judges

3. Marathon County District Attorney

4. Department of Corrections

5. Public Defenders Office / Local Defense Attorney’s

6. Marathon County Board / community members

7. Marathon County Sherriff’s Department

8. Wausau Police Department

9. State Courts Administration

10. North Central Health Care

11. County Administration / Justice Programs

12. The Women’s Community

EBDM Vision for Marathon County

Marathon County is the safest community.  Less crime –  Fewer victims

Harm Reduction Goals

Marathon County’s harm reduction goals include the following:

1. Reduce the number of crisis transports out of county.

2. Decrease calls for crises that result in detention.

3. Reduce the number of charges for bail jumping/bench warrants.

4. Increase supervision services for medium and high risk individuals on pretrial release

5. Decrease the number of low risk individuals held in jail.

Read more what stakeholders in Marathon are saying about the EBDM Initiative:

EBDM centers on the idea of continuous improvement and is fundamentally focused on two processes: Learning and Innovation.  We seek to learn about our criminal justice system, our processes and the people that exist within it, and we gather together as partners within that system to educate ourselves on evidence-based programs aimed at improving both system efficiency and the outcomes for the people that make their way through it.  Innovation occurs when we adapt our practices in light of what we have learned.  This process is an incremental one, but because of EBDM we are now having open and honest discussions about the challenges we face as a community and we have the tools to develop strategies to move forward.  It is now our responsibility to put those strategies to work for the people of Marathon County. 

– Deputy County Administrator/EBDM Chair Lance Leonhard

Phase VI Application

For more information on the effort in Marathon County
Contact Laura Yarie, CJCC Coordinator, at laura.yarie@co.marathon.wi.us