GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A town hall meeting was held at the Brown County Jail Thursday to discuss the issue of inmate overcrowding and the potential options and solutions for the facility in the years ahead.
Sheriff John Gossage requested the National Institute of Corrections to conduct a Jail and Justice System Assessment which evaluates current operations and assists in determining how to address current and future detention needs.
A representative from the NIC spoke during the town hall.
Gossage explains what the organization is looking at in regards to the jail.
“They’ve taken a look at what our policies are, what our procedures are, what our physical location is, what our best practices are, taking a look at our treatment courts, taking a look at all of our alternatives and what we’ve done, and they said we’re light years ahead of other communities. The problem is we start having an increase in population.”
The NIC brought up real concerns, including how to accommodate the mental health issues facing the jail and addressing the unique needs of the rising population of female inmates.
The sheriff says the overcrowding problem lies within the fact that inmates are not being released as fast as they’re booked in.
As for the solution, that may take some time.
“It’s a footprint that I don’t think people generally want to invest in because it’s a jail. It isn’t something that’s going to bring more money into the community,” said Gossage. “A well-educated public and county board is going to be needed here, so they make the right financial business decision, not a political decision.”
Gossage is hoping to share statistics from the meeting on the Brown County Jail’s website so the public can see what issues they are facing.
For now though, the jail is currently at 92% capacity with 40 inmates shipped out to Outagamie County.
