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Corrections/Jail

The Sheriff of a county shall take the charge and custody of the jail maintained by the county and the persons in the jail and keep the persons in the jail personally or by a deputy or jailer; 59.27(1). The Jackson County Jail continues to serve the detention needs for the communities within Jackson County. The jail provides housing for persons in our custody and care.

The Corrections Division is supervised and managed by the Jail Administrator who has the rank of Captain. There is an Assistant Jail Administrator, rank of Lieutenant and four (4) Corrections Sergeants that assist with daily operations. There are eight (8) Corrections Officers and four (4) LTE – part time Corrections Officers Their primary responsibility is the safety and security of the jail 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The jail facility was built and subsequently occupied 1986. The jail is a linear architectural design and has sixty (60) beds with two (2) intake / receiving cells. The jail has 10 housing units; 28 beds are located on the maximum-security housing side of the jail. Four (4) housing units on maximum side have six (6) beds and two (2) housing units have two (2) beds. There are 32 beds on the minimum-security side of the jail. These housing units are dorm style, double bunked and have eight (8) beds per housing unit. 

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) regulations require the jail to properly house and complete inmate security classifications on every inmate confined to the jail. The Jackson County Jail classification process is designed to identify security and health issues so that inmates may be held in such a way as to foster a safe and secure facility. The initial classification process is intended to identify predatory, violent and at-risk inmates. Inmate classification should occur early in the intake process to allow for appropriate supervision while an inmate is being temporarily held in the jail and until a decision is made to place the individual into a more permanent housing assignment. The following criteria is used to evaluate every inmate:

  • Age
  • Sex
  • Current charges
  • Behavior during arrest and intake process
  • Criminal and incarceration history
  • Emotional and mental condition
  • Potential risk of safety to others or self
  • Special management inmate status
  • Special needs assessment for vulnerable inmates
  • Behavioral or physical limitations or disabilities
  • Medical and mental health condition
  • Level of sobriety at booking
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Escape history and degree of escape risk
  • Prior assaultive or violent behavior
  • The need to be separated from other classifications of inmates (e.g., juvenile offenders gang affiliation, confidential informant, former law enforcement, sexual orientation)
  • Prior convictions for sex offenses against an adult or child
  • Whether the inmate is or is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex or gender non-conforming (see Prison Rape Elimination Act Policy for transgender and intersex definitions)
  • Previous sexual victimization
  • The inmate’s own perception of his/her vulnerability
  • Whether the inmate is detained solely for civil immigration purposes
  • Whether the inmate is a foreign national and if so from what country (see Foreign Nationals and Diplomats Policy)
  • Prior acts of sexual abuse, prior convictions for violent offenses and history of prior institutional violence or sexual abuse, as known to the Office (28 CFR115.41)
  • Any other criteria as deemed appropriate by the Sheriff or the authorized designee

 

Inmates are housed based upon the following criteria:

  • Classification level
  • Age
  • Sex
  • Legal status (e.g., pretrial or sentenced)
  • Need for protection or separation
  • Criminal sophistication
  • Any other criteria identified by the Jail Administrator

The National Institute of Corrections reports (NIC) that an objective jail classification (OJC) is a process of assessing every jail inmate's custody and program needs and is considered one of the most important management tools available to jail administrators and criminal justice system planners. An effective system of inmate classification will reduce escapes and escape attempts, suicides and suicide attempts, and inmate assaults.