Some politicians and street leaders have complained of inhumane treatment of inmates at the Downtown jail. I decided to find out. I went to the head man himself. He is Inspector Aaron Dobson, commander of the Milwaukee County Jail for five and a half years. We met in his office, which includes a large wall computer monitor where he can view any activity in the jail at any time. Is Dobson the gritty, gravel-voiced guy as portrayed in Hollywood movies about prisons? On the contrary, he is friendly, open and engaging. He seemed willing to discuss anything, and I asked him about lots of “anythings.”
Tell me about your personal history, where you grew up, your parents, neighborhoods, and schools you attended—and how you got into police work.
I grew up in the city of Milwaukee, attended public schools. Member of a lower middle-class family dedicated to the work ethic. My dad was a dedicated factory worker his whole life. He never called in sick. I graduated from Milwaukee Vincent High School in 1994. The student body was diverse, and being white, I was in the minority. This experience helped me a lot in learning about people from diverse backgrounds.
After high school, what was next for you? College? Police work?
Actually, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and so I joined the Marines at 18, spent four years in active duty. I was an Air Command & Control Electronic Operator. I spent time in San Diego, Okinawa, Thailand, Japan, and North Carolina, and made sergeant my last year. In the Marines, I grew up pretty fast. I learned structure, discipline and responsibility. I learned how to adapt, overcome, and accomplish a mission. This experience built a drive within me to succeed.
Why did you leave the Marines?
Moving around is tough on family life. I was married to my high school sweetheart, and we are still together today. So I decided a natural transition would be law enforcement. I took a job as a Milwaukee County deputy sheriff and started at the Milwaukee County Jail, following my academy training in January of 1999. I started out in this Downtown county jail, then worked here for five years as a deputy and in every different position I could.
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What appealed to you about working in the jail? Everyday, you are dealing with troubled people.
I really learned how to talk to people, both occupants and fellow workers. I liked working as part of a team of deputies who have to provide a safe and secure environment for themselves and the occupants they are responsible for. It’s also rewarding to know you are doing something important for the community by keeping the bad guys locked up, but also by keeping the bad guys safe. Everyday there is always something new and different. It’s a fast-paced environment. You get close to the people you work with because you depend on them. At the same time, it’s a tough job. People sometimes call you names, might even attack you.
Five and a half years ago, you were promoted to your present job as commander. What career steps did you take to get here?
After working in the jail, I became part of the Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, and I did that job for 15 years. It’s a high-risk assignment. In a critical incident, you may be called to a scene where there is an active shooter or otherwise hostile subject. You join the team at the scene, then determine the plan to stop the threat and make the situation safe. Or a judge may have signed off on a search warrant for a drug house. The SWAT team members make a tactical plan before we enter the house. We move methodically. Our top priority is always to keep everyone safe.
Being a member of the SWAT team isn’t full time work. You just need to be on alert when called. Right?
Correct. While on the SWAT team, I was also a patrol deputy on 3rd shift for three years. That meant nights patrolling the freeway. Takes getting used to. A lot of OWI arrests and also traffic enforcement violations. And it’s tough covering accident scenes. After that, I worked in the Parks Unit, patrolling the county parks. I liked that job, interacting with residents. Then, I became a detective. In that job, you have to be analytical, conduct witness and family interviews, crime scene investigations and interrogations. Really interesting work. In April of 2017, I was promoted to this job as commander of the Downtown jail.
What is your job like? What are the responsibilities?
The jail is very busy, but I have a good leadership team. Our jail capacity is 960. We have an average of about 50 new occupants coming in everyday. That means 15,000 bookings every year. Keep in mind arrested people are coming in as other people are getting out, some being freed, some being transferred to the House of Correction or to state prisons. My job is similar to running a small city. We have to provide occupants with everything: housing, medical care, mental health care, daily food service, hygiene items, haircuts, clothes, a law library, access to their lawyers, and access to speak to their family members. I also deal with outside vendors, transport services, and mental health providers. And I have a big budget to manage.
What is the difference between the House of Correction in Franklin and your downtown jail here? And do you handle both county arrests and city arrests by local police?
Every arrested person in Milwaukee County, whether by city or county cops, is brought to this facility. We use the House of Correction in Franklin for prisoner overflow, those prisoners charged with less serious crimes.
Is it difficult to oversee people who have broken the law and become incarcerated? What are the dangers for your correctional officers and caretakers?
Photo by Tom Jenz
Aaron Dobson
Aaron Dobson
You know, some of our occupants are easy to deal with. They’ve made mistakes, committed misdemeanors, and will be in jail for only a short time. Some are in custody for very serious felony charges and will be incarcerated for a much longer period. We also contract with an outside company that manages and performs medical and mental healthcare.
Presently, your jail population is 915. Out of those 915 occupants, how many are classed as mental health occupants?
I’d say about one third of our population have mental health issues. Some are able to be housed in the general population, but many live in specialized housing. Many of our mental health patients are on psychotropic medications.
Tell me how you separate the occupants, for instance, the mentally ill, violent, suicidal, and of course, women versus men.
Each of our occupants is housed appropriately. Depends on age, crime committed, criminal history, mental health issue, and gender. These are the factors we look at to determine where an occupant should be housed. Regular housing units include general population occupants who are the least likely to have conflict between them. Occupants who might be violent with safety concerns, based on a judge’s order, are housed separately. There are also occupants we have in protective custody: former law enforcement officers, transgender people, or those who fear for their safety. We provide separate housing units for those who are sick or disabled and also for mental health patients. Occupants who are permitted to work in this facility have their own housing unit. In all of these cases, we keep males separated from females. Finally, we have administrative segregation - occupants who are violent or suicidal.
How many women versus men are in currently in your jail?
We now have about 80 to 90 women, so just under 10%. Our population consists mostly of men.
What are the physical and mental qualities that it takes to be a correctional officer in the jail?
Correctional officers oversee the housing units. Each officer might be responsible for up to 64 occupants. You must have good communication skills, settle disputes, physical altercations, and medical emergencies. Remember that many occupants are stressed over facing a lot of time in prison or waiting for a trial. You need to have both oral and written skills. You have to have “thick skin” because people will call you names or throw things at you. You must have sound ethics and morals. And you need to be team player. You might need to work weekends or double shifts. My biggest challenge is retaining staff because county and city law enforcement officers are paid about 25% more than correctional officers working in the jail.
How many correctional Ooficers do you have on staff?
We are budgeted for 251 correctional officers. Presently, we have 166 on staff. The problem is not recruiting but retention because it’s hard to keep people who make only $25 per hour for such a difficult job.
I know that people of color are over-represented in the criminal justice system. In fact, Milwaukee County has one of the highest per capita incarceration rates for Black men in the country. How many occupants are people of color?
Keep in mind our staff population is very diverse, but it is unfortunate that the majority of our jail occupants are Black. And the majority of our officers and employees are people of color. I will say that racial problems rarely come up as an issue in this facility. If the occupants are treated with dignity and respect, they give it back.
At the Downtown county jail, how long is the average stay for someone who has committed a crime or waiting to be sentenced?
The average length of stay is 40 days, but that is a bit deceiving. We do have a large number of people who have committed serious crimes—homicide, shootings, assault. Thirty to 40 percent of those will be in this jail for over a year. Presently, there are 184 occupants who have committed homicide, and they will be residents for two or three years while they await trials or sentencing.
Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee currently face the challenge of increasing criminal activity. Has that meant more people confined to your jail?
It has meant more people confined for very serious crimes, and they have generally high bails and cannot bail out. Since they have a perceived threat level, we cannot transfer them to the House of Correction.
If I am a county supervisor, I am allowed to visit the jail, correct?
Absolutely. We’ve given numerous tours to the County Supervisors and the County Executive. We also work with the ACLU and the Legal Aid Society and have given their people tours.
The Jail Environment
After the interview, I asked for a tour of the jail. Commander Dobson asked, “What areas do you want to see?”
We started on the 3rd Floor, intake housing unit 3C, the occupants from the recent past and classified as the General Population. The dormitory housing unit consists of a rectangular day room, which seems similar to a large lighted cafeteria. The floors are seamless epoxy, and inanimate composite tables with chairs are anchored to the floor. The room is used for socializing, recreation, and eating the catered meals. The decor is painted blue and gold and gives off a pleasant ambience.
The occupants, mostly Black men, wore orange jumpsuits. There were two phone kiosks, six phones each. Every phone was in use. The occupants can use these phones at their leisure. Some men were watching TV. A few played chess and board games. Others stood around talking. For these confined men, this is another experience of what humans can learn about each other. On their faces, I saw smiles, scowls, and sorrows. Occupants are free to roam as long as they follow the rules. For further distraction, there is a nearby gymnasium for designated periods of exercise and basketball. Upstairs there are video booths for the occupants to chat with friends and relatives through video visits, similar to FaceTime calls.
Along the walls, the jail cells surround the recreation area. Cells occupy a lower floor and an upper floor with a railing terrace. Cells must be clean, toilet scoured, beds made. The Correctional officer sits within a surround-desk from which he observes occupant behavior.
Commander Dobson asked if I wanted to see a cell. I picked the cell, a long narrow room with a bed, sink, and a toilet. It was well lighted with a comfortable resonance. I noticed hygiene items and legal materials neatly arranged. Each night, the occupants are locked in their cells, and each is given a computer tablet with free educational resources including a law library and free online books. The tablet also features access to entertainment resources including movies, music and video games.
We moved on up to 4C, the step-down mental health unit similar in scope to 3C. The male occupants roamed the room, but there wasn’t much social interaction. To oversee only 48 occupants, there were two Correctional Officers instead of one. Mental health professionals are only a call away to offer help if there is trouble.
Later, in the hallway, we met a deputy leading a German Shepherd-Belgian Malinois wearing a deputy vest. The dog’s name was Rocco, his fur night black. The dog’s job is to sniff out drugs if there is an alert. He might also diffuse a violent confrontation. According to his handler, Rocco’s presence commands attention and can serve as a deterrent. Rocco is three years old and lives with his handler. He allowed me to pet his head, but seemed intensely on alert, looking here and there.
Next, we visited the housing unit for the violent occupants. They are kept on strict lockdown, their small recreational room lined with cells and protected by tempered glass. Violent occupants are required to stay in their cells but are released one at a time for one hour a day for recreation and use of the phone. Through the tempered glass, I saw a lone occupant, shirtless, eating lunch at a table.
I asked Inspector Dobson if a violent occupant demonstrated good behavior, will that earn him points? He said, “Yes, we will release him back into the general population. In this jail, our number one goal is always safety.”
Dobson currently manages 223 Milwaukee County Jail staff members including five property room civilian employees, 25 civilian clerical specialist, and 27 uniformed supervisors. He oversees close to 90 outside vendor employees including medical professionals, mental health professionals, transport specialists, food service and commissary workers.
