Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility: Wasted Tax Money Yet a Lesson in Diversity

Written on April 9, 2011,

   Well, I’ve been at M.S.D.F. since Wednesday, April 6^th. It took me a little while to get settled in.  After the bus ride here, we unloaded our property from the bus. Then we went into the intake area of the building.  It was like D.C.I. all over again.  Bright yellow uniforms were issued to us after yet another strip search.  Then we took new pictures for our new IDs.  Funny thing is, they’re identical to the last ones we had!  We then had another Psych. Evaluation, even though all of our medical records came with us, including our last Psych. Evaluation.  If you ask me, it’s all a huge waste of time, and a poor excuse to waste tax dollars on a facility like this.  In all my experience with the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin, this facility has got to be the poorest use of money (tax dollars) that I have seen yet.  It is run like a Super Max Prison and is only classified as minimum/medium security. 

   Next we were taken, one by one, to stand at a table while they sorted through our property.  They also introduced us to the gourmet-style meals we’ll be enduring over the next six months.  They decided to not let my second set of headphones in, along with some random adapters for my T.V., an extension cord, and my sneakers.  All of this stuff gets boxed up until I leave this facility, whether to go home or to another facility.

   A short while later the C. O.s brought us up to the ninth level to our temporary cells in General Population.  A lot of people in my position would have been really out of place in this unit.  I was the only person from the group that is starting ERP soon to be put in this unit.  I also am exactly half of the Caucasian population in this unit!  There are 44 inmates, 2 of which are white, 3 are Hispanic, and 39 are black.  I see a lot of people getting intimidated if they are in my position, but I don’t let it bother me that I’m the minority in here.  I guess I’m kind of used to it by now. 

   First they put me in a cell on the lower tier with an older guy (54) and he was one hell of a talker.  He meant well but sort of annoyed me with his repetitiveness.  After being his cellmate for a day, they moved me to the upper tier so someone coming in with some sort of a problem with walking up stairs could have my bunk.  My new cellmate is 25 and is cool by me.  We get along alright.  He asks me questions about white people and it cracks me up!  I guess stereotypes go BOTH ways!!!  We watch a lot of the same T.V. shows so that helps out too.  Then we don’t always have to wear our headphones.  Anyways, I’m glad we get along.  Some of the other guys give him shit in the unit because he has a white cellie.  They really didn’t know what to think when they heard us up until 3 A.M. the first night after I moved in.  We just sat up talking, laughing, and joking for a long time.  Everyone was dumbfounded the next day when they said, “We heard you and your cellie up choppin’ it up all night last night.”  He just said back, “Yeah, he’s cool as hell, actually.”  Then the weird looks, and everything I normally got, went away.  Anyhow, the lights are about to go out for the night. 

Until tomorrow…

~J. Doe

There's an Old Prison Superstition

Written on March 9, 2011,

   Today started off like any other day in Dodge. After lunch I got ready for Rec. But before I could go, the Sgt. came and told me I couldn't go. I asked why I couldn't go and he told me I was leaving in the morning at 6:00AM so I needed to pack up. A few minutes later he came back with a couple of paper bags to put my belongings into, so I asked him where I was going. He told me CCI (Columbia Correctional Institute) in Portage, WI. So I checked the Blue Book. It's the book showing the details for all prisons and other institutions in WI and it showed that CCI was a maximum-security prison. I'm like, “Great! I ask for minimum and they give me maximum! It's listed that I'm minimum security, so I don't understand.” Well, after a little more asking around, I found out there is a medium-security barracks-style building on the grounds at CCI. It's a temporary holding facility. The Sgt. also told me I am scheduled to come back to Dodge at the beginning of April, then I'm off again to MSDF (Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility) on April 6^th. I start my AODA program on April 18^th according to my paperwork. So anyhow, I packed up everything I had to take with me. I couldn't bring any open food or hygiene items though. After I packed, I waited for them to come get me so they could go through my things while they box them up and seal the boxes.

   All day long I waited, and even asked the Sgt. a few times if he knew what was going on. He said he'd check into it and made a few phone calls for me, but had no luck. He didn't find out anything. Come 8:00PM he came back to my cell and asked if they had come and packed my stuff yet since he had gone on break. I told him no. He said, “Maybe they will do it in the morning instead.” I just shrugged and said, “I hope so!” Later we did standing count and once they finished shift change, I asked the 3^rd shift Sgt. if he knew what was going on with my stuff being packed. He said he didn't know anything, but he did know that nothing would be happening tonight. Well I guess I got my answer then. So I laid back down to read the rest of the book I was reading. I hate not finishing a book. There's an old prison superstition that says “If you don't finish the book you're reading, you'll be back to finish it!” Well needless to say, I don't want to come back to finish it!

   Around 11:30PM the Sgt. Came with a Captain in a white shirt and another Sgt. To pack my things. They had no idea why it hadn't been done, but I knew I was leaving at 6:00AM and it had to be done before I left. They had to handcuff me to let me out of my cell since it was 3^rd shift, so I stuck my hands through the trapdoor and they locked 'em on and let me out. We carried my two bags to the back where they had boxes. Each item had to be counted and documented on a packing form. They didn't let me bring my open soap, shampoo, or conditioner. So instead of throwing it out, the Captain said he'd let me bring it back to my cell. He couldn't give me permission to break the rules and give it to another inmate, but he'd allow me to “Forget it in my cell.” After we finished, I signed the form and went back to my cell to finish my book. They took my cuffs back and said they would see me in the morning. I tried reading the rest of my book but my mind kept wandering so I just read the last page of each chapter and got the end of it like that. Then I went to bed.

Until tomorrow...

~J. Doe