Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility

The following and more can be viewed HERE. (This complies with copyright laws, it is a direct cited source reference. Thank You ;) It is simply an intro to the facility and is obviously public information.)

I would also like to add a footnote to the site the source but the source itself lacks information throughout the pages and even in the source code itself. (With the minor exception of http://www.wi-doc.com/legalnotices.htm which does not pertain here.) If you are an author or otherwise please contact me at prison.gates@gmail.com so this can properly be cited.


"

Mr. John Husz, Warden
1015 North 10th Street
P.O. Box 05740
Milwaukee, WI 53205-0740
414-212-3535
FAX 414-212-6811

INSTITUTION MISSION STATEMENT

The Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility protects the public by detention, accountability and programming of adult inmates in a safe and secure institution while remaining committed to the goals of successful reintegration to the community.

INSTITUTION INFORMATION

The Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF) is a high-rise, medium security correctional facility in downtown Milwaukee. Although it is statutorily an adult institution, MSDF functions in a similar manner to that of a jail operation. Unlike other Department of Corrections institutions, MSDF accepts offenders 24 hours a day, and has an intake booking/objective classification process closely resembling that of a county jail.

The Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility was built to meet the specific needs of Probation and Parole, knowing that public safety is best served when a non-compliant offender can be held in secure detention for a period of time pending investigation of an alleged violation. During this time, the alleged violation can be investigated and the offender can be placed into programming, including appropriate treatment. Following this placement, some offenders may return to the community while others may be revoked and sentenced to a period of confinement. The operational philosophy of the facility is unit management – the inmates stay on their assigned floors and services are brought to the housing units on the floors.

The uniqueness of this institution has attracted interest from around the United States. There are very few high rise detention facilities throughout the country. The ones that exist typically do not provide the programming and collaboration with the community that MSDF does; something that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections feels is an important component to offender change and public safety.

The Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility has a capacity of 1,040 felony offenders, with beds designated for male (as well as 42 beds for female) offenders who have been on supervision in the community and are pending investigation of probation or parole violations. There are also 210 beds used to provide Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction (AODA) programming, focusing on Alternatives to Revocation (ATRs). The average stay in the general holding cells is 67 days. The average stay in the AODA ATR program is 3 months.

ANNUAL REPORTS

Additional information on MSDF can be found in their annual reports."

Annual reports and other information can be found on the source page.

Less To Say? Maybe Truely A Typical Day.

Written on Monday, January 31, 2011

   Today was a typical day for me here a Dodge Correctional Institute. I had Rec at 7:30 AM downstairs in the small Rec room. I pushed myself to the limit, damn near passing out while on the bench press. After that, we did clothing exchange. I tried to get out of my cell to “help” the swamper all morning but, the 1st shift Sargent wasn't going for it.

   We did cell clean up after 12:15 PM headcount and shift change. The 2nd shift Sargent let me out to help fold laundry until 4:15 PM when we had dinner. Then, I just came back to my cell to lock down. It makes it easier for the Sarge since everyone has to be locked down for headcount at 5:30 PM anyhow.

  I used this time to fill out my canteen order form.

   After count, the Sarge came and got me out for a phone call... But I never signed up...? I found out the swamper mistakenly signed me up for a phone call instead of my cellmate. I told the Sarge that I didn't want a phone call but he let me stay out to help finish folding laundry and doing “rounds,” answering questions for other inmates and whatever else.

   After the swamper passed out ice at 7:00 PM we just played cribbage until 8:45 PM. He told me he heard a number of people may get moved tomorrow but doesn't know who. I guess I'll see then. Now, I'm going to eat some noodles, read my book and lay down for the night.  I'm exhausted.

  Until Tomorrow...


~J. Doe

The First Writings....

Saturday, January 22, 2011

   So today is officially the first day of my daily logs.  I will be trying to recap the last month while here at Dodge Correctional Institute (DCI.)  Sorry if at times I seem sort of vague while describing my daily routine as it is quite redundant.  Today was only slightly different.  I'll explain in a moment here.  It started off when I was awoke at 6 A.M. by a Correctional Officer (C.O.) yelling, "Seven! Standing count!"  We then have to get off our bunks and silently stand away from the door while the C.O. walks from cell to cell turning on our light to count every inmate in our unit.  I am in Unit 7 which only has 16 cells, 15 of which are two man cells and the last is a single cell for our unit "swamper" or inmate worker as they are more commonly called.  Next we all get ready for breakfast.  Pants on, shirt tucked in, shoes on our feet and I.D. badge hung around our neck.  Sometimes while we're doing this the C.O. walks the unit unlocking the cell doors.  Then we wait...

  After a short time a telephone will ring by the C.O.'s desk followed by him yelling once again.  This time it's "Seven! Chow!"  Then we all exit our cells, shut our doors and walk single file out of our unit, down the hall and down the stairs to the chow hall.  We get a napkin, a knife (plastic of course) and a spork just before getting our tray with our luxurious breakfast of a fruit cake, bran flakes, two pieces of toast, one serving of peanut butter, 6 oz of grape juice and Waupun Dairy whole milk in a 1/2 pint carton.  Now this is where the race begins.  You would think since the breakfast is so small we would have plenty of time to eat and still have time to spare, but no.  The C.O.'s conveniently time every meal so you have to nearly choke to finish the food on your tray before they yell at you saying, "Let's go fellas! We need this table!"  We usually finish our milk on the way to dumping out tray and walking out.

  As we exit the chow hall there is a C.O. who is waiting to pick out inmates and randomly pat them down for any contraband.  After another groping we walk up a flight of stairs and down a hall to our unit.  We enter our cells and close the doors behind us.  Typically a few people get yelled at during this for passing magazines, books or a canteen item we paid for ourselves.  This is where everything we've been taught since birth goes out the window.  People raise their children to share, then one day they land themselves in prison and get yelled at, wrote up and sometimes taken to Solitary Confinement (The Hole) for doing just that, sharing.

  After we are back in our cells the C.O. comes around locking us back in.  I kick off my shoes and lay back on my bunk, usually trying to go back to sleep.  Sometime in the next thirty minutes the swamper comes and opens the trap-door in our door and tells us if and where we have any appointments at any of the different areas of the prison (i.e. H.S.U. for any doctor appointments, dental, A&E/Psych, A&E/CIP Orientation, A&E for staffing, Library or Law Library, etc.)