An officer shortage forced Waukesha County to move people from its Huber Facility to the jail. There might not be room for them.
An officer shortage and increasing disrepair at the Waukesha County Huber Facility have forced officials to move 45 incarcerated people from the facility to the county jail.
The move, which began Thursday, anticipates the impending closure of the Huber Facility, 1400 Northview Road.
Waukesha County Sheriff's Department Inspector James Gumm discussed the move with county supervisors on Friday morning. He said that incarcerated people still have access to Huber, or work-release, privileges in the county jail, but the Sheriff’s Department and Waukesha Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow are looking for alternatives to those privileges, such as electronic monitoring.
Judges award Huber privileges on a case-by-case basis for offenses such as drunk driving, low-level drug crimes or others. Huber participants are allowed to leave the jail during working hours to attend or search for work, care for family and perform other duties.
The Huber Facility has about 110 people in the program, along with correctional officers and supervisors who oversee the building, Gumm said. The 45 people who have already moved are kept in a separate pod in the main jail facility so they can resume working. Those remaining at Huber have been consolidated to one floor, with half of the original number of correctional officers remaining to patrol.
Gumm said a staff shortage prompted the move. There are 32 vacancies out of about 130 positions, and Gumm said the Sheriff’s Department has recruited nearly enough people to fill the gap. However, since they require training, most hires are about six months out from starting work.
There are about 380 incarcerated people at the jail, which has a maximum capacity of 480. Supervisor Matthew Weil was concerned about overcrowding, as the current total of incarcerated people between the two facilities exceeds the jail’s limit.
Gumm said the Sheriff’s Department and Dorow are looking into electronic monitoring as an alternative to incarceration, to decrease the jail population and limit overtime for staff. The county jail is also not built to facilitate a Huber program, so Gumm said the Sheriff’s Department would like to turn to other correctional options.
Another concern at the Huber Facility is the disrepair and age of the building. Gumm said that a “huge piece of concrete fell off the building” recently, though it did not endanger any staff or incarcerated people.
The Sheriff's Department and Dorow formed a task force to address alternative correctional options, including electronic monitoring, which could entail ankle monitors or alcohol sensors.
Ralph Schultz, a retired pastor, attended the meeting to voice support for treatment programs as an alternative to incarceration. Schultz is a member of SOPHIA, a Waukesha coalition of faith communities that addresses social justice issues.
“We are all aware that there are people, because of what they have done in their lifestyle, (that) need to be in jail,” Schultz said. “Then there are those who are really eligible for other programs ... which is helpful for them in their particular situation.”
Lydia Morrell can be reached at 320-444-2339 or lmorrell@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @lydia_morrell.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha County forced to move people from Huber Facility to jail
