DEA agents in Wisconsin face several challenges because of the state’s location. Being on the border with Canada, DEA agents must be wary of international drug smuggling operations. Not to mention the fact that the shared boundary is mostly comprised of Lake Superior, a fact that keeps agents busy interdicting and surveying marine and air vessels attempting to cross illegally and deliver shipments of illicit substances. The state of Wisconsin is also large and mostly rural, making it a perfect place to conduct clandestine marijuana grow operations.
Also the Milwaukee area, including the counties of Waukesha, Brown, Rock, Dane, Racine, Kenosha, and Milwaukee, has been identified as a region with a high amount of drug trafficking. The most common drugs for which people seek treatment in rehabilitation centers across the Badger State are:
- Marijuana: over 2,000 people seeking treatment
- Cocaine: over 1,250 people seeking treatment
- Opiates including Oxycodone and other derivatives (not heroin): less than 1,250 people seeking treatment
- Heroin: about 1,000 people seeking treatment
- Stimulants including methamphetamine: about 250 people seeking treatment
- All other illegal drugs: less than 250 people seeking treatment
DEA Jobs in Wisconsin: Leadership and Collaboration
The DEA in Wisconsin is proficient in conducting its own operations, however often times the agency teams up with other local, state, and federal law enforcement organizations whose sum combined forces are greater than each individual unit.
- Working in collaboration with the Milwaukee, Brookfield, Shorewood, Glendale, and West Allis police departments, the DEA recently concluded a week-long string of arrests which was the culmination of several months-long investigations. The results were the arrests of 21 individuals on charges relating to prescription drug abuse, a phenomenon cited by a local DEA agent as a vice that causes more overdose deaths nationwide than cocaine and heroin combined.
- Working in a multi-jurisdictional task force, DEA agents arrested 11 Green Bay suspects in connection with a local organized crime group accused on distributing more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and multiple kilos of cocaine obtained from a source in Chicago.
- The DEA recently teamed up with the Rockford Police Department to investigate and arrest a man already on parole for drug violations who was purportedly selling cocaine. Agents located the suspect who was in possession of 14 grams of cocaine and 47 grams of marijuana.
- The South Eastern Minnesota Narcotics Task Force, along with the Rochester Police Department, Olmstead County Sheriff’s Office, and DEA agents worked together to arrest 18 suspects in and around the cities of Eau Claire and Rochester in connection with the sale and distribution of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, marijuana, and heroin.
Requirements and Training for DEA Jobs in Wisconsin
Becoming a DEA agent is a long and strenuous process designed to select the most qualified candidates. The first step on the road to DEA careers in Wisconsin is meeting the minimum physical, background, education, and experience requirements. Candidates must either have previous law enforcement experience related to illegal drug enforcement or have education in any of the following areas:
- Law degree, either an LL.B. or J.D.
- B.A. or M.A. in related fields, such as:
- Foreign languages
- Engineering
- Law
- Information technology
- Auditing
- Accounting
Prospective agents who are interested in how to become a DEA agent in Wisconsin can check in at one of the local field offices in Green Bay, Madison, or Milwaukee.