Clarke to release inmates, reduce freeway patrols, jeopardize public safety

In order to close a $5 million hole in his department’s budget, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke announced yesterday he plans release 120 inmates from the County Jail and reduce freeway patrols, two ideas which will no doubt enrage “law and order” conservatives all across southeastern Wisconsin. After all, neither idea bodes well for public safety for the residents of Milwaukee County.

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14 thoughts on “Clarke to release inmates, reduce freeway patrols, jeopardize public safety

  1. Between this and Walker’s giving eight days of furlough to the sheriff deputies, I think this effectively eliminates any chance for Walker running as the “tough on crime” candidate.

  2. I frankly don’t think that releasing inmates will do anything to jeopardize saftey. Frankly, those inmates that are housed in the HOC are typically non-violent misdemeanor offenders who are serving less than 6 months. The key thing in this article is the closing of the programs that try to address substance abuse, vocational and educational issues. I think we all need to remember what the purpose of the criminal justice system is and that is to reduce crime. If the systems only solution is locking people up then we can only guarantee a reduction in crime while they are incarcerated which means that the only solution is to lock more people up, for longer periods of time. The loss of the programs that are trying to address the underlying issues relating to criminal behavior is huge blow to crime prevention.

    1. Excellent point, Rooster.

      It will also put a financial crunch on the rest of the county, since most other departments rely on the HOC printing shop for all of their printing, from business cards to letterhead paper. Now the county may have to go outside to the private area which will end up costing big bucks.

      1. capper, I can’t beleive I didn’t consider that. The closing of the HOC print shop, which as you stated meets most of the needs for many county departments, will have a huge financial impact. I wish I could say this surprises me but this is typical of county government. Instead of having a large over-arching plan on how to deal with meeting the county’s needs you have individual department heads only looking out for their own department’s bottom line.

      1. I guess that makes it okay then. Why does it matter if he is running again? As far as his campaign theme being law and order, do you happen to remember the post he held while running for governor the first time?

        1. And anyway, my original post was to point out that it is happening at the state level too. Zach’s post didn’t mention anything about running or campaigns (I guess I was supposed to infer the dig on Walker).

          However, Zach did say “neither idea bodes well for public safety for the residents of Milwaukee County.” Well if it doesn’t bode well for the county, does it bode well for the state? It seems as per usual, we’re only focusing on half the story over here.

  3. At the state level, the 22 felons released from prison have collectively committed more than 150 crimes, including 74 felonies. A recent study also revealed that 15 out of the 22 felons had been denied early release by a judge previously.

  4. So the idea that reducing deputies is a good thing? I don’t see anything good about seemingly reducing or nearly eliminating patrols on Milwaukee County freeways. I feel they are not patrolled well enough as it is, not including the fact that it is a big drug trafficking route.

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