STATE SAYS JAIL POPULATION INCREASES AGAIN

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- More than a third of Wisconsin's county jails were
full or overcrowded as the inmate population increased to 11,000 last year,
a state agency said Friday.

Reasons for the increase include more crimes that require a mandatory jail
sentence, more arrests, and more people having their parole or probation
revoked, according to a report from the state Office of Justice Assistance.

Judges are sending more serious criminals to jails rather than state
prisons, because the prisons also are overcrowded, said Tom Everson, a
spokesman for the office.

"The days of jails holding shoplifters and town drunks are pretty much
over," Everson said.

State law allows the Department of Corrections to use jails temporarily for
probation and parole violators.

The increase continues a trend of larger jail populations since the office
began keeping records in 1988. Last year, the average population was
10,038, about double the 1988 figure, according to the report, which was
compiled from surveys sent to Wisconsin sheriffs.

The report also said 29 out of 71 county jails are full or have more
inmates than what they were designed to hold. Some of those counties
include Brown, Dodge, Eau Claire, Juneau, Milwaukee, Racine, and Sheboygan,
according to the report.

Marty Ordinans, who heads the county jail inspection office at the state
Department of Corrections, says about 40 counties are building or planning
to build more jail space.

Wisconsin's county jails will be able to hold between 4,000 and 6,000 more
prisoners within two to four years, Ordinans said.

However, Barron County Sheriff Jerry Johnson said he expects the numbers to
increase more in the future and doubts if new jail space will be ready in
time.

"I can tell you that it's a trend that isn't going to go away," Johnson said.

Up to 80 inmates are in the Barron County jail that is designed to hold 52,
Johnson said.

That means inmates have to be paired up in cells, which can become tricky
because jail officials don't want to put hardened criminals together with
first-time offenders, Johnson said.

"It's kind of a nightmare in figuring out how to house these folks at
times," Johnson said.

Often, Johnson said he and his deputies have to ship inmates to jails in
other counties, costing taxpayers $50 to $65 a day for each inmate.

In Milwaukee County, jail officials also are doubling up inmates in cells
designed for one, and there is even a waiting list for people trying to get
in a jail work-release program, said Inspector Mark Warichak, who runs the
jail.

The crowding also is a burden to people who work at the jail because of
increased tensions, Warichak said.

"It's loud, it's crowded, and its more difficult to deal with the inmates,"
Warichak said. "It makes our jobs harder to do."

Checked-by: Pat Dolan