UNDATED (WTAQ) – One area state lawmaker says the Wisconsin Department of Corrections will notify the public “on a timely basis” when someone walks away from a minimum-security facility from now on.
The announcement came from Wisconsin State Rep. David Steffen (R-Howard), who began pressing the DOC last October on the issue after 2 men walked away from the Winnebago Correctional Center in Oshkosh.
On October 9, Austin Reynolds and Leland Larock escaped from a fenced-in area of the facility. However, police failed to notify the public of the escape until 4 days later. Reynolds was arrested on October 14 in Green Bay, while Larock was arrested in Shawano County on November 16.
“I’m thankful for the Department of Corrections’ prompt response to my request for an enhanced public notification policy,” said Rep. Steffen in a statement. “Protecting the public through timely community-wide notification enhances the safety of every Wisconsin resident.”
Steffen says the DOC’s policy had been to rely on local law enforcement agencies to notify the public of minimum-security escapees. From now on, he says the DOC will notify the public and the media directly.
“The core mission of the Department of Corrections is public safety. We would like to thank Representative Steffen for bringing these issues to our attention so that we can ensure that timely notification of inmate escapes is provided to the public,” DOC Deputy Secretary Cathy Jess said in a news statement.
According to the DOC’s website, there are 14 minimum-security correctional centers in the state. Inmates at the correctional centers are transitioning back to society at the end of prison sentences.
