Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt outlines changes at Milwaukee County Jail

-
2:47
Area health departments flooded with calls following 65 and older...
-
2:09
‘A statement of the resilience of our democracy:’ Security...
-
1:57
Milwaukee to begin vaccinating people 65 and older at Wisconsin...
-
2:07
’There is no opportunity to buy’: Don’t get caught in a...
-
0:45
Home in Waukesha County a total loss after fire on Oakdale Drive
-
1:01
Brothers ’Mort and Dudley’ -- red river hogs -- arrive at...
-
1:08
Maria Monreal-Cameron, Milwaukee Hispanic leader and philanthropist,...
-
1:01
Harley-Davidson drops video showcasing new 2021 motorcycle models
-
1:49
Milwaukee Common Council votes to accept $9.7M grant for more...
-
1:56
Wisconsin residents 65 and older eligible for COVID-19 vaccine...
-
3:31
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, some Wisconsin programs seeing increase...
-
3:25
Chief tax information officer: What you need to know when filing...
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County Jail is in for some changes. Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt has just announced his plan to transform the jail.
Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt called inmate deaths and issues in the jail the "elephant in the room" that he wants to talk about-- and let people know what changes he's made since taking the job 4 months ago
Sheriff Schmidt says he has entirely new leadership.
Staffing is up 19% cutting back the amount of overtime correction officers have to work. He's working with the national institute of corrections, the Milwaukee County Justice Council, and other community groups to make sure inmates needs are met.
The Sheriff says a big challenge is the medical issues inmates face-- largely due to the opioid crisis. To help corrections officers, The Sheriff assigned six sworn officers to the jail, a move he called unusual.
"That's a huge amount of resource I've put into the jail...you the people have demanded it and that's exactly what they're gonna get," The Sheriff said.
Sheriff Schmidt is a finalist for the permanent job as Milwaukee County Sheriff but says he does not know when The Governor will make a final decision.