CloseMSDF want to close this building in downtown Milwaukee – the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility.
The building above is the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, or MSDF. Located right next to the Milwaukee County Courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, it currently houses more than 1,000 inmates from across the city, many of whom serve less than a year at the medium-security facility. If you drive past it like many Milwaukeeans do every day, you’d think nothing of it.
However, it has been the goal of many community activists and organizers to close this facility for years. These community groups, which include Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO) and CloseMSDF, cite poor conditions such as over-crowding, over-heating, no sunlight or outdoor recreation, and sometimes confinement for over 24 hours at a time.
But with a new governor and new incoming secretary of the Department of Corrections, change could be coming soon. “I do feel optimistic that there will be some changes,” said Sharyl McFarland, the campaign coordinator for CloseMSDF. “With Governor Evers, he talks about things that haven’t been said before...we haven’t heard that before. Just the language in itself is optimistic.”
Sharyl McFarland, the campaign coordinator for CloseMSDF
During a campaign stop in Milwaukee last year, now Gov. Tony Evers said he supports closing the MSDF. Department of Corrections Secretary-designee Kevin Carr has also expressed interest in working with the groups, according to CloseMSDF community organizer Alan Schultz, who said he has met with the community organizers. “I am optimistic for the moment, but until I actually see tangible things falling into place, I don’t want to get my hopes up,” he said.
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The Wisconsin Department of Administration has commissioned a Master Facilities Planning study which will be completed later in the year. The goal is to “evaluate existing DOC facilities (including MSDF) and assess the ability of those facilities to adapt to current and future operating and occupancy pressures,” according to a DOC spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the Governor’s transition team has also had meaningful talks with the organizers. David Liners, the executive director for WISDOM, a coalition of Wisconsin religious congregations working to end mass incarceration, was part of the Governor’s advisory committee on public safety and criminal justice reform. He said the group included a wide array of backgrounds, including judges, attorneys, public defenders and DOC personnel. Sarah Ferber, associate director of EXPO and a former incarcerated individual herself, was also in the group.
He said the group agreed there needed to be ways to deal with the issue of crimeless revocation, or the practice of re-incarcerating individuals on probation, parole or extended supervision for minor rule violations, according to EXPO. Liners also specifically brought up closing MSDF to the group. He said the governor and incoming DOC secretary are aware of their concerns.
“They understand it’s an issue. One of the concerns was how,” Liners said, adding that he proposed for a task force to be created to deal specifically with the issue. “There needs to be some urgency.”
Gov. Evers made many lengthy claims while campaigning, including his support of eliminating mandatory minimums and ending the use of solitary confinement. He also made visits to Wisconsin prisons during his first week in office—something that previous Gov. Scott Walker declined to do while he was in office.
According to CloseMSDF, 17 people have died at the facility since its construction in 2001. About four years ago, the leader of Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO) died in the facility because of the extreme heat, and the inability for him to receive medications he needed while he was there. Just last summer, multiple suicide attempts were confirmed after temperatures reached well over 100 degrees at the facility.
“While I’m hopeful and I want things to change, I am still skeptical at the moment,” said Schultz.
You can learn more about their campaign here.
