Women in Green Co. jail sent to Iowa Co. due to staffing shortages

August 5, 2022 10:10 AM

Jaymes Langrehr,

Posted: August 5, 2022 10:10 AM

by Jaymes Langrehr

MONROE, Wis. — The Green County Sheriff’s Office says it can no longer house women in its jail due to a shortage of female jail deputies.

In a public release Friday, Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud says the female deputy shortage and the design of the Green County jail has made it too difficult to keep women in the jail, forcing them to reroute female inmates to the Iowa County jail, nearly an hour away in Dodgeville.

Four women who were in the Green County jail but eligible for Huber privileges were placed on electronic monitoring, Sheriff Skatrud said. Four other women were moved to the Iowa County jail on July 26.

Sheriff Skatrud says some of the responsibilities of housing inmates are gender-specific, and as of now they do not have the staffing to ensure a female deputy is on duty at all times at the jail, and he does not anticipate being to accommodate female inmates until early in 2023.

Because of the inability to house women in the jail, if a woman is arrested in Green County, they will now be booked in at the Green County jail in Monroe before being transported to the Iowa County jail in Dodgeville — a 45-mile drive that takes a deputy about an hour each way.

If a female inmate has a court appearance, they will need to be transported back to Green County for the hearing before being driven back to Iowa County.

Sheriff Skatrud says it costs Green County between $50 and $60 per day to house an inmate in a different jail, and they also have to cover medical and transportation costs. He says the department is actively recruiting for jail deputies, but the training period takes between 4 and 5 months once they are hired.