943.01 Damage to property.

(1) Whoever intentionally causes damage to any physical property of another without the person's consent is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(2) Any person violating sub. (1) under any of the following circumstances is guilty of a Class I felony:

(a)

1. In this paragraph, “ highway" means any public way or thoroughfare, including bridges thereon, any roadways commonly used for vehicular traffic, whether public or private, any railroad, including street and interurban railways, and any navigable waterway or airport.

2. The property damaged is a vehicle or highway and the damage is of a kind which is likely to cause injury to a person or further property damage.

(b) The property damaged belongs to a public utility or common carrier and the damage is of a kind which is likely to impair the services of the public utility or common carrier.

(c) The property damaged belongs to a person who is or was a grand or petit juror and the damage was caused by reason of any verdict or indictment assented to by the owner.

(d) If the total property damaged in violation of sub. (1) is reduced in value by more than $2,500. For the purposes of this paragraph, property is reduced in value by the amount which it would cost either to repair or replace it, whichever is less.

(e) The property damaged is on state-owned land and is listed on the registry under sub. (5).

(f)

1. In this paragraph, “ rock art site" means an archaeological site that contains paintings, carvings or other deliberate modifications of an immobile rock surface, such as a cave, overhang, boulder or bluff face, to produce symbols, stories, messages, designs or pictures. “Rock art site" includes artifacts and other cultural items, modified soils, bone and other objects of archaeological interest that are located adjacent to the paintings, carvings or other deliberate rock surface modifications.

2. The property damaged is a rock art site, any portion of a rock art site or any object that is part of a rock art site, if the rock art site is listed on the national register of historic places in Wisconsin, as defined in s. 44.31 (5), or the state register of historic places under s. 44.36.

(2d)

(a) In this subsection, “plant research and development" means research regarding plants or development of plants, if the research or development is undertaken in conjunction or coordination with the state, a federal or local government agency, a university, or a private research facility.

(b) Any person violating sub. (1) under all of the following circumstances is guilty of a Class I felony:

1. The property damaged is a plant, material taken, extracted, or harvested from a plant, or a seed or other plant material that is being used or that will be used to grow or develop a plant.

2. The plant referred to in subd. 1. is or was being grown as feed for animals being used or to be used for commercial purposes, for other commercial purposes, or in conjunction with plant research and development.

(2g) Any person violating sub. (1) under all of the following circumstances is guilty of a Class I felony:

(a) The property damaged is a machine operated by the insertion of coins, currency, debit cards or credit cards.

(b) The person acted with the intent to commit a theft from the machine.

(c) The total property damaged in violation of sub. (1) is reduced in value by more than $500 but not more than $2,500. For purposes of this paragraph, property is reduced in value by the amount that it would cost to repair or replace it, whichever is less, plus other monetary losses associated with the damage.

(2k)

(a) In this subsection, “energy provider" means any of the following:

1. A public utility under s. 196.01 (5) (a) that is engaged in any of the following:

a. The production, transmission, delivery, or furnishing of heat, power, light, or water.

b. The transmission or delivery of natural gas.

2. A transmission company under s. 196.485 (1) (ge).

3. A cooperative association organized under ch. 185 for the purpose of producing or furnishing heat, light, power, or water for its members.

4. A wholesale merchant plant under s. 196.491 (1) (w), except that “wholesale merchant plant" includes an electric generating facility or an improvement to an electric generating facility that is subject to a leased generation contract, as defined in s. 196.52 (9) (a) 3.

5. A decommissioned nuclear power plant.

6. A company that operates a gas, oil, petroleum, refined petroleum product, renewable fuel, water, or chemical generation, storage transportation, or delivery system that is not a service station, garage, or other place where gasoline or diesel fuel is sold at retail or offered for sale at retail.

(b) Any person violating sub. (1) under all of the following circumstances is guilty of a Class H felony:

1. The property damaged is owned, leased, or operated by an energy provider.

2. The actor intended to or did cause substantial interruption or impairment of any service or good provided by the energy provider.

(c) Paragraph (b) does not apply to any of the following:

1. Any person who is:

a. Monitoring compliance with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour requirements, or other statutory requirements.

b. Engaging in picketing occurring at the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor dispute including any controversy concerning any of the following: wages or salaries; hours; working conditions; benefits, including welfare, sick leave, insurance, pension or retirement provisions; or the managing or maintenance of collective bargaining agreements and the terms to be included in those agreements.

c. Engaging in union organizing or recruitment activities that are otherwise lawful including attempting to reach workers verbally, in writing, and in the investigation of non-union working conditions.

2. An exercise of a person's right of free speech or assembly that is otherwise lawful.

(2m) Whoever causes damage to any physical property of another under all of the following circumstances is subject to a Class B forfeiture:

(a) The person does not consent to the damage of his or her property.

(b) The property damaged is on state-owned land and is listed on the registry under sub. (5).

(3) If more than one item of property is damaged under a single intent and design, the damage to all the property may be prosecuted as a single forfeiture offense or crime.

(4) In any case of unlawful damage involving more than one act of unlawful damage but prosecuted as a single forfeiture offense or crime, it is sufficient to allege generally that unlawful damage to property was committed between certain dates. At the trial, evidence may be given of any such unlawful damage that was committed on or between the dates alleged.

(5) The department of natural resources shall maintain a registry of prominent features in the landscape of state-owned land. To be included on the registry, a feature must have significant value to the people of this state.

History: 1977 c. 173; 1981 c. 118 s. 9; 1987 a. 399; 1993 a. 262, 486; 1995 a. 133, 208; 1997 a. 143; 2001 a. 16, 109; 2015 a. 158; 2019 a. 33.

To prove unlawful entry to a building with intent to commit a felony in violation of s. 943.10 (1) [now s. 934.10 (1m)] when the underlying felony was criminal damage to property in excess of $1,000, it was necessary to prove not only an intent to criminally damage property, but also that the damage to the property would exceed $1,000. Gilbertson v. State, 69 Wis. 2d 587, 230 N.W.2d 874 (1975).

Criminal damage to property is a lesser included offense of arson, s. 943.02. State v. Thompson, 146 Wis. 2d 554, 431 N.W.2d 716 (Ct. App. 1988).

A person can be convicted of criminal damage to property in which he or she has an ownership interest if someone else has an ownership interest. State v. Sevelin, 204 Wis. 2d 127, 554 N.W.2d 521 (Ct. App. 1996), 96-0729.