Keeping Track

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Milwaukee County corrections staff could be tracking offenders using GPS technology under a proposal being considered. The pilot program’s goal is to reduce the number of people using the Huber program.

That ambitious initiative is being developed by members of a Community Justice Council’s (CJC) Jail and Huber subcommittee.

“The committee is evaluating the county executive’s proposal to eliminate the Community Correctional Center (CCC) and replace it with GPS (Global Positioning System) monitoring,” said Milwaukee Chief Judge Kitty K. Brennan.

Jail and Huber committee chairman Ronald K. Malone envisions 50 offenders from the CCC will be selected for a pilot project which will work off of the Justice 2000 model for pre-trial monitoring.

While a test run could commence later this year, committee members admit several details need to be worked out before the county considers closing the doors on the CCC for good.

Six months ago, Brennan solicited members of the community to volunteer for several advisory committees designed to better coordinate court, law enforcement and other state agencies’ operations. That has been no small task, admits Brennan, who is the chair of the 27-member Milwaukee County Community Justice Council.

Keep Options Open

Judge Jeffrey A. Kremers, who is the presiding judge in the Felony Division and a member of the CJC’s Jail and Huber subcommittee, said that regardless of whether live GPS monitoring is successful, there will still be a need for some sort of Huber facility in Milwaukee.

Earlier this year, County Executive Scott Walker proposed a phasing out of the work-release facility in downtown Milwaukee, which is a converted hospital building. He suggested the closure would save the county $2.5 million.

But Kremers said that limiting options could actually increase costs if more offenders are sentenced to jail time.

“If you present judges with only two choices (jail or electronic monitoring), that could cost the county more than having a facility that allows us to do both,” said Kremers, who acknowledged that the current CCC is outdated.

Walker, who is a member of the CJC, said the success of the pilot project will likely dictate future need for a Huber facility.

“It’s been talked about, but it’s still very much an open-ended question,” said Walker. “If the pilot is successful, does that alter the concerns expressed by Judge Kremers and others? We’ll see.”

Kremers said he spoke with judges in La Crosse County, which closed its Huber facility almost two years ago, about the elimination of their work-release program.

The county only has four GPS trackers, which are not monitored in real time, and La Crosse County Circuit Court Judge Dale T. Pasell said the general jail population has grown since the Huber facility closed.

“Because the options were straight time or 24-7 on GPS, judges opted for straight time in jail, because of the need for punishment,” said Kremers.

While Pasell admits that determining the appropriate level of punishment is challenging in some cases, judges have the ability to break up an offender’s sentence.

“In some instances, we think people need time in jail so they serve the first five days there and maybe the next 25 on house arrest,” said Pasell. “There is a punitive aspect to it.”

Pick and Choose

Malone, who is the superintendent for the Milwaukee House of Corrections, said judges have been adamant about maintaining some sort of work-release facility in the county.

“There is a belief some people have that GPS is not always enough punishment in a punitive way,” said Malone. “Now, you may have someone in Huber go to work everyday, but some of those candidates still need to be incarcerated at night.”

Pasell noted that there have not been any significant problems with offenders assigned to electronic monitoring in La Crosse and many are the same judges encountered from inmates on work-release.

“We have had problems with people who we’ve let out who don’t show up for testing, or cut off their bracelets or get drunk,” said Pasell. “But there haven’t been any major crimes committed, but it could happen just as it could have happened before when we had a Huber facility.”

Personally, Malone said he would love to see a new Huber facility in Milwaukee, but he knows that costs will be a consideration. Funding for the GPS pilot project has yet to be solidified, but long term, Malone said selling the property where the CCC is located is a possible source of revenue.

Walker said if the pilot is successful, he ultimately hopes between 350 and 400 CCC inmates will be monitored through GPS, rather than remain residents of a work-release facility.

“People may come back and say we can only do half that,” said Walker. “Ultimately, the goal is increased public safety and we’ll adjust other parts of the budget to accommodate that goal.”