Milwaukee County patrol deputies transferring, court staff shortages

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is transferring patrol deputies to staff the courthouse in an effort to address staffing shortages and overtime mandates.

The Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association shared an internal letter from Chief Deputy Daniel Hughes, dated Aug. 23, with FOX6 News on Tuesday. 

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"The biggest overtime use in this agency is the jail," Hughes said during a July finance committee meeting. "Second biggest user of overtime is the courts division."

"We're stuck with having to figure this out, this committee and the county board," County Supervisor Steve Taylor said at the time.

Hughes was talking about MCSO's $7 million deficit – and $7.6 million overtime deficit. In his memo, the chief deputy said 24 deputies worked 32 hours of mandated overtime in just one week.

"We simply don't have enough deputies, and thus bailiffs," said Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley.

The transfers will begin Sunday, Sept. 8.

Mandated staffing

The Wisconsin Supreme Court required a minimum of two sworn officers in each courtroom to deter violence. Ashley said the court is ready to collaborate on solutions and understands the issue touches every part of Milwaukee County.

"The key to resolving this problem is to hire enough, to get enough people who want to do this work," he said.

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Milwaukee County increased its sheriff's office budget, as well as deputy and correctional officer pay, but MCSO said mandated staffing needs – like the courts and freeway patrol – have outpaced the ability to hire and train. The issue is coupled with a previous hiring freeze, retirements, resignations and terminations.

"It's on them to make sure they're offering a culture that is positive and a place where people want to work," said County Supervisor Shawn Rolland.

No more overtime

MCSO's decision means deputies from other divisions will no longer be forced to work overtime to cover Court Division staffing shortages. The agency will no longer schedule any volunteer overtime to cover those same shortages, according to the letter.

In the letter, Hughes noted "copious amounts of mandated/forced overtime to maintain minimal operations" at the courthouse. Hughes wrote there are not enough deputies to fulfill budget position requirements in "every division," but the Court Division is where the majority of overtime is worked.

Hughes also wrote that the department has lost "extensive" numbers of deputies over the last several years specifically because of staffing issues – 13% of budgeted deputies have left thus far in 2024. The sheriff's office is 50 deputies short across the agency each day.

"None of this even contemplates the havoc this is wreaking on our members' health and well-being or the devastation on their family lives," Hughes wrote. "Frankly, if we do not impose drastic changes now, we will continue to lose people at an unprecedented rate and will not have enough people to minimally staff our constitutional, mandatory, and contractural responsibilities."

Official statements

FOX6 News reached out to the sheriff's office and the deputies association, but did not hear back by Wednesday's deadline for this story.

Carlos Bruno, president of the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association

"The Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs Association supports the message sent to sworn personnel. Year after year, Milwaukee County has denied mandated budgetary positions for the sheriff's office. Due to those decisions by the County Board of Supervisors and the Milwaukee County executive, overtime will no longer be authorized to fill those mandated positions in the courthouse complex."

Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley

Courtroom Security is a basic requirement for court users including litigants, attorneys, jurors, court staff, and the public in general. Across the Country, we've experienced more violent and aggressive behavior. The Court has, in particular, been confronted with these behaviors.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules states: (1) Courtroom. There should be no fewer than two sworn officers in each courtroom and each court commissioner hearing room when court is in session. The judicial officer may expressly direct otherwise. SCR 68.07

The comment in SCR 68.07 states: The presence of sworn officers serves as a deterrent to violent outbursts and provides the ability to respond to incidents that may arise. In this respect, the open and obvious presence of uniformed officers is an example of basic court security principles designed to deter those intent on harm, detect those who have breached security, and limit the damage caused by the breach.

It is impossible to predict the type of case that might lead to a violent incident. Therefore, it is essential to provide court security for all types of cases.

We must maintain adequate bailiff staffing of the courts to provide our community with the fundamental opportunity to participate in the judicial process safely. It would violate the communities' trust to allow our Felony Courts to be staffed with one bailiff instead of the two currently assigned and to remove altogether the bailiffs from Family Courts. It is unfortunately all too common to have violent behavior occur in our courtroom and hallways. It would be tragic to experience harm to court users or staff when we were aware of the potential dangers.

Proper bailiff staffing also allows us to be more efficient in court operations. Specifically, with two bailiffs we can avoid stopping the court proceedings when one bailiff is bringing in someone in custody or bringing a jury to the court from jury management. We are still working to address our backlog from Covid which is a priority.

The role of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is "to serve and protect everyone within Milwaukee County with fairness, integrity, and respect". The duties are outlined in WI. Statute 59.27, which include "attend upon the circuit court held in the sheriff's county during its session." In altering the deputies available for Milwaukee's court system, it significantly impacts the ability for the Sheriff's Office to fulfill its role and statutory obligation. The bailiffs provide a vital and invaluable resource to our court system.

At the forefront is the public who enter the courthouse every day to seek justice or complete their civil responsibility of reporting for jury duty. A reduction in bailiffs will impact the efficiency of delivering justice, this in turn touches every aspect of our community and prohibits Milwaukee from reaching its vision "by achieving racial equity, Milwaukee will be the healthiest county in Wisconsin".

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley

"Maintaining law enforcement services in Milwaukee County is a public safety priority. That’s why my recent budgets have included significant increases for items including correctional officer pay, collective bargaining for deputy sheriff salaries, and increases in food and medical contracts that provide services to the Milwaukee County Jail. The 2024 budget included an $8 million or 15% increase for these items, and over the past four years, I have increased the Sheriff’s Office budget by 32%. We continue working with the Sheriff’s Office to identify funds for law enforcement services, including through engaging the State of Wisconsin and our federal partners. The Sheriff’s difficult staffing decisions demonstrate the fiscal constraints that we are facing due to mandated service requirements placed on Milwaukee County by state law. As we prepare next year’s budget, I remain committed to deploying fiscally responsible, thoughtful, and innovative solutions to balance our budget, work toward our shared vision, and build a brighter future for Milwaukee County. I know the Sheriff agrees, and we’ll continue working together to move forward and maintain public safety services in the community."