MCSO hiring event: push for more jail staffing, diversity

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is trying a new tactic to diversify the jail staff and build up its numbers, numbers which were lost during the COVID pandemic.

Jacob Smith is looking at what he hopes is the start of a new future. "It was pretty smooth. They asked me simple questions, nothing that I couldn't handle."

The former U.S. Postal Service worker got his conditional job offer at Thursday's (Jan. 11) Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office hiring event.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

"I know a lot of young guys in that probably wind up in the wrong situation, so if I’m there to just give them some motivation, not to end up in the wrong situation," said Smith.

The hiring event itself is aimed at correcting one of the office's biggest problems. Budgeted for a little more than 250 correctional officers, the office is now hovering around 200. It's looking to hire about 50 more.

An applicant being interviewed.

It's a tough process trying to fill the gap that COVID left in staffing.

"People dropped out, people got tired, they got exhausted, people got sick, and the staffing numbers fell," said James Burnett, Acting Chief of Staff for Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

He is also the Director of Public Affairs & Community Engagement. He says they haven't been at full staffing levels for at least two years.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

"It’s a serious job, it is often a thankless job and so we always want to be very careful and very deliberate about the people we bring aboard," added Burnett.

He says he doesn't expect 50 people to complete the hiring round, but he has faith they'll get close enough.

If you missed the hiring event, the window is still open to apply online. The starting salary is $30/hour.