MILWAUKEE — The debate over what to do with the seemingly troubled Milwaukee County Jail continues. After six deaths in about 14 months, inmate advocates and county leaders are calling for transparency and change.
Thursday, Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball detailed the inner workings of the jail and what she said they need to make improvements.
"This is about the people that are in there that are still suffering, the people that haven't even entered who could suffer," Kerrie Hirte said.
In December, Hirte's daughter died in the Milwaukee County Jail.
"More people are gonna end up dying. That's the only thing that's going to happen, Hirte said.
For months now, Hirte and the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression have been fighting for transparency and answers from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office which oversees the jail.
Now, county supervisors are asking for the same.
"We have a big problem to solve, and we can do it if we really want to," District 3 Supervisor, Sheldon Wasserman, said.
On Thursday, Sheriff Ball and her staff broke down their needs.
"Our objective is that no one, and I mean no one, dies while in our care or custody," Ball said.
To do that, Ball said they need resources to address staffing shortages and inmate overcrowding.
Right now, we're told the jail's short nearly 100 corrections officers. The solution, deputies said, is an increase in pay.
Currently, corrections officers start at $26 an hour. Deputies said they'd like to see that number bump up to $33 an hour to compete with state corrections officers.
"If we don't get to at least $33 an hour, we will be worse off than we are now. We will have a mutiny if we don't get there," one deputy said.
When it comes to inmates, deputies said Thursday, there are more than 900 in custody on any given day.
Ball said this forces jail staff to rely heavily on overtime to fill gaps and take care of inmates.
"We're dealing with inmates who have some very severe and violent charges. This leads to situations where sometimes it becomes unsafe in a booking room or housing unit because we just don't have the staff to operate efficiently," another deputy detailed.
After hours of back and forth between public comment, the sheriff's office, and county supervisors, a unanimous vote advanced the report to the next full board of supervisors meeting. This means the conversation continues on how to best improve jail conditions.
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