Editorial: What’s happening in the jails?

Ronald Shansky soon will be issuing another of his six-month reports on medical care at the Milwaukee County Jail and the House of Correction. Given the report he issued in May, and what former employees recently told the Journal Sentinel’s Jacob Carpenter, county officials need to pay close attention to that report and consider whether a deeper outside investigation is warranted.

Shansky, a court-appointed watchdog and medical doctor, inspects the two facilities twice a year under terms of a 2001 legal settlement between the county and inmates. He found that 30% of all medical jobs at the county’s two jails weren’t filled, a rate he called “inconsistent with adequate quality of service.” Inadequate staffing by Armor and poor record-keeping by employees have led to a failure to deliver timely medical treatment, according to newly obtained records and former employees who spoke with Carpenter.

The report is especially troubling given that four deaths have occurred at the jail since April. It’s not clear whether the issues noted by Shansky contributed to any of the deaths. But none has been adequately explained and authorities have so far refused to release almost any information on any of them.

WATCHDOG REPORTS: Shortage of medical staff plagues Milwaukee jails| Deaths in Detention

Armor denies that it is providing inadequate staffing and disputes Shansky’s findings, but the company’s own monthly staff-level reports, obtained by the Journal Sentinel, suggest Armor hasn’t fixed its employment issues since Shansky’s visit in May.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who pushed to hire Armor in 2013, has refused to discuss the issues and, as usual, has called the Journal Sentinel’s reporting “biased, unfair and written more as editorials with an agenda, rather than informative news.” But maybe he’s been too busy jetting around the country on behalf of his idol Donald Trump to actually read the reporting or pay attention to what’s happening at his jail. He should pay closer attention.

Inmate dies overnight at Milwaukee County Jail

House of Correction Superintendent Michael Hafemann also refused an interview request from Carpenter. But he did say in an email that House of Correction staff “ensures all Armor contract provisions are being met and properly credentialed medical personnel are hired.” And Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele told us Tuesday that even if vacancies aren’t filled, Armor still provides staffing it is contractually required to provide. He also said service at the House of Correction has improved dramatically since Hafemann took over from the sheriff’s department.

Death in County Jail ruled homicide; cause of death was dehydration

County Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr. is not convinced, and took issue with both Abele and the sheriff in an email Tuesday, saying “the recent deaths and reports of poor care at the jail and HOC are upsetting and frustrating, and the lack of action by the sheriff and the county executive should be troubling to the public.”

He is requesting an immediate audit of the Armor contract. If Shansky’s next report is as bleak as his May report, Lipscomb should push hard for that audit.

In the meantime, Clarke should open up; his attempt to wall off the department from public scrutiny is shameful. And, it is yet another sign that the sheriff isn’t doing what the county’s citizens elected him to do.