Milwaukee County correctional officer shortage
MILWAUKEE - In an effort to address staffing shortages, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is hosting a day-long correctional officer hiring event Wednesday, June 8 at the Zoofari Conference Center on Bluemound Road, where applicants could get an offer on the spot.
Demetria Dillard’s fiancé, Tony Talbert, is one of the 947 people locked inside the Milwaukee County Jail. She said she wants change now.
"I want like, more staffing, better communication with the inmates and lieutenants," said Dillard.
Dillard was one of three people who reached out to FOX6 News to say inmates were stuck in their cells 23 hours a day at the jail, so we asked the sheriff’s office about it.
They replied with a statement saying, in part:
"Low staffing numbers impacted operations in the form of necessitating limited time outside their housing units for occupants. That said, even with the staffing crunch, we were able to meet our statutory obligation by getting occupants out for at least one hour to shower and call family members. In fact, most of our occupants were out for longer periods than one hour."
We also followed up with a jail supervisor, Lt. Noel Ybarra.
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"We do what we can to make sure that they have their rights and privileges and make sure that they have their time out of their cells," said Ybarra.
The sheriff’s office says 251 correctional officer positions are budgeted for the jail. As of Tuesday, 133 officers were employed, plus a number of deputies temporarily assigned to the jail to help.
In an effort to reduce staffing shortages, the jail is hosting a hiring event on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Milwaukee County Jail
"We’re doing on-the-spot interviews, background investigations and conditional offers," said Ybarra.
Ybarra said the job as a correctional officer is demanding.
"We’re looking for anybody who’s dedicated and wants to make a change in their community to come and apply," said Ybarra.
