Sheriff,
I would like to say the rhetoric being spit by you and Scott Walker regarding the recent policy decision by governor Doyle to release nonviolent offenders back into the community in order to reduce prison overcrowding is the same base and fear mongering that got us into this mess. Instead of subjecting the Internet community to your ridiculous and ill-informed opinions why don't you do a little research into the subject outside of your fascist law enforcement paradigm.
Having been a resident of Milwaukee county and recently moving away to another county that is being proactive in working with those involved in the criminal justice system it has made me realize just how draconian and ass backwards leaders such as yourself approach crime and justice issues in the most affected county in the state. There are people to blame for the way things are in Milwaukee county and why the situation has not improved...take a look in the mirror. It is time we have community leaders committed to being smart on crime as opposed to you "tough on crime" political lackeys who view any progressively thinking ideas as being soft on crime.
"Now in 2009, Governor Jim Doyle wants to once again play Russian roulette with the safety and security of our seniors, women and children who are disproportionately the ones most affected by fear, violence and disorder."
Nice use of fear here with "Russian roulette" and identifying "seniors, women, and children." Yes, they are most affected by the fear, violence, and disorder along with the misinformation and politicization of the criminal justice process by individuals such as yourself. Would you also like to tell these seniors, women, and children that statistically if they were to be victimized by a crime it would be by a friend or family member...someone they already know? Of course not, because you want to hang the imagined fear over their head that big bad men will be returning to the community with the sole intention of raping, burglarizing, stealing, and murdering them.
"...the people who will pay the highest price in the form of injury, death and emotional trauma in the form of fear will be Milwaukee’s minority community, because that is where the majority of these criminal perpetrators will return."
Perhaps if there was a better initiative to engage these minority communities, educate them, clean up neighborhoods, provide opportunity, these conditions would not exist. The social inequality and institutionalized poverty imposed in America along with a severe lack of treatment and intense reentry programs in the prison system that extends into the community continue to perpetrate the situation you describe.
"For them to propose this dangerous experiment shows how out-of-touch they [Doyle Administration] are with the reality of criminal behavior. For the governor to make policy decisions on public safety, solely for budgetary purposes is reckless..."
Dangerous experiment or what should have been happening all along? Are you truly of the opinion that the release of nonviolent drug and property offenders is going to substantially increase the amount of crime in your county? These people should not have been in prison at all in the first place. Furthermore, many states across the country are now effectively legalizing some illegal drugs (namely marijuana) because of the futility of the arrest, prosecution, sentencing, and possible incarceration of the users. Additionally our Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to defer to states in the handling of medical marijuana use. It is time we begin to treat those addicted to illegal drugs as medical patients and not as criminals. Imagine if Wisconsin began treating all those arrested for crimes associated with alcohol as criminals, then we would have a real prison overcrowding concern.
"Crime has become ingrained human behavior by the time we send criminals to prison."
1 in 8 young black men in today's society will go to jail or prison. People like you make this statistic real and your statement leads me to believe you are ready to give up on your race simply because you have ascribed to a Hobbesian view of society. Please tell those who have been reformed through proper treatment and education that they should have been given up on, that their life was no longer useful, that they should remain thrown away and separated from society. What about our youth in urban settings that have grown up with no positive influences, see no opportunity because of the way our society is run, and as a result turn to making easy money by selling drugs, stealing, and robbing because that is all the opportunity they are exposed to? Are they destined for prison or should we choose to alter what we value and extend a helping hand to those struggling?
"I’m here to tell you that there are very few “non-violent” people in the state prison system."
Clearly you have no real idea who you are sending to prison from your county. This is a ridiculous statement. If there are people in prison or jail right now that do not need to be there then what is the point of spending precious dollars to house them?
"Public safety cannot be achieved painlessly or cheaply. One of the main reasons that prison costs are so high in Wisconsin is because they are inefficiently run."
So your answer is for Wisconsin to ship inmates out of state and contract with prison industries to punish the individuals that the state has deemed criminal? Does this seem right? What about the children whose parents are in prison? Should they have to travel to another state to see their parent? Are you in the profession of ruining not only individuals but families completely as well? Should the government be contracting with private business to punish on their behalf? The state is inefficiently running its prison system so pass the buck to private business. Just because you want to shift the blame and responsibility to another institution does not mean the problem will go away. Take ownership of the issues and correct it without outsourcing.
To make your research a bit easier I give you the following:
Treatment Instead of Prisons: A Roadmap for Sentencing and Correctional Policy in Wisconsin
http://www.justicestrategies.
Smart on Crime: Recommendations for the Next Administration and Congress
http://www.2009transition.org/
This is just scratching the surface and if you would like more resources I would gladly supply them. I am certain you have seen many of the aforementioned resources and are prepared to debunk any and all of it with your outdated ideas. Do not waste your time. This is a call to arms to change the way we operate our lives and our institutions. We cannot go forward as a society with the ways we currently operate. You, Sir, are in a position of power to take a leadership role and influence your fellow citizens and the youth of our once great nation to live responsibly, peacefully, justly, and sustainably.
Good luck
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