Posted:
Wednesday, December 20, 2017 8:17 am
JEFFERSON — Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel was the primary facilitator for a Jefferson County law enforcement roundtable discussion Tuesday.
Thirty law enforcement and governmental officials attended the gathering at the University of Wisconsin-Extension building in Jefferson.
Along with Schimel and other officials from the Department of Justice, present were the police chiefs from Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Palmyra, Johnson Creek, Lake Mills and Watertown; Jefferson County Sheriff Paul Milbrath; Sheriff’s office Capt. Jerry Haferman; Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ; county victim-witness coordinator Laurie Anderson.
Also, Jefferson County Criminal Justice Collaborating Council/Treatment Court coordinator Craig Holler; Jefferson County Circuit Court Judges Jennifer Weston and Ben Brantmeier; Emergency mental health supervisor Kim Propp; county child and family director Brent Ruehlow; County Administrator Ben Wehmeier; county corporation counsel J. Blair Ward; County Supervisor Dwayne Morris; Whitewater City Manager Cameron Clapper; Town of Oakland Chairperson Eugene Kapsner; Town of Koshkonong Chairperson Bill Burlingame; State Rep. Joel Kleefisch and state Sen. Steve Nass.
Invited, but unable to attend, was state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald.
Schimel said Tuesday’s meeting was “either my 38th or 39th law enforcement roundtable” that he had held across the state. He said he was there to listen to everyone’s “concerns and challenges.”
Noting he had no specific solutions immediately available, his plan was to take the feedback from Tuesday’s session and apply it to make sure state-level and Department of Justice-level procedures are operating smoothly for local law enforcement officials.
“We hope to hear from you on what is and what is not working, how we can help from state government and when does help mean just getting out of the way, or whatever the case may be,” Schimel said to start the discussion. “It will be easier for me to go back and work with legislators on finding solutions when they have heard it from you. I want to hear what is going well, and what you’re struggling with.”
Three main topics were discussed during the 90-minute event: drug addiction and related mental health issues, especially pertaining to the relationship between law enforcement and medical/mental health services; concerns regarding law enforcement recruitment efforts, and reimbursing the county’s cost for cellphone-based 911 calls. The element connecting all three subjects throughout the discussion was rising costs and decreased funding.
Schimel asked, when compared to other counties, what is worse in Jefferson County — opioid or meth addiction?
“It is almost all opiates,” Milbrath answered. “We have a few meth cases, but we have far more — probably 90- to 95 percent — are opioid-based cases.”
“I hear from treatment professionals that more people are using opioids and meth together,” Schimel said. “They think if they use to them together, they will be ‘balanced.’
“That is obviously a frightening prospect,” he added. “A lot then switch to methamphetamines because they’re cheaper, and they perceive it as less deadly, which is only sort-of true.”
Schimel asked Ruehlow how that was affecting families.
“Nearly 80 percent of all of our out-of-home care is the result of mom or dad having issues with opioids or heroin,” Ruehlow said. “That is a big driver for out-of-home placement, and a big driver of our budget, for alternative care in general. A lot of kids are not going home, compared to years ago, because we’re seeing an increase in termination of parental rights.”
Schimel said he has heard that “over and over again.”
Ruehlow said his department enrolls children in preschool to expose them to early care to build resiliency.
“We try to be proactive, and do as much early outreach as we can,” he said.
Schimel asked what Jefferson County resources were available for treating those parents.
“We try to use parents’ insurance, or reach out to a provider in the community,” Ruehlow said. “We do not have an over-abundance of providers.”
The panel discussed the county’s successful alcohol treatment court, as well as preventive measures, and how addiction was related to mental health issues.”
“Law enforcement sends us referral, and we try to get them in quickly,” Propp said. “We are able to have people see a crisis worker on the same day. People can walk-in. We assess their needs.
“We recently got a grant to hire another person for our clinic to help people with opioid abuse,” she added. “We try to get people into a 30-day treatment program.”
In response to a question by Schimel, Propp said there are no 30-day facilities in Jefferson County.
“We contract out of county,” she said, noting that with facilities in Waukesha, Appleton, Fond du Lac and Green Bay. Following up on that, she said, “In 2009, we only had 3,582 crisis contacts. As of the end of November 2017, we have had 9,723.”
Those contacts were for a combination of substance abuse and non-addiction-related mental health issues.”
She added there also were 147 emergency detention admissions this year.
“I thought it odd that you said ‘only 3,582,’ since that seems like a lot, too,” Schimel said. “That’s three times of what you had.”
The discussion then segued into transportation issues. Schimel asked where subjects were taken for an emergent detention.
“Wherever the opening is,” Milbrath responded.
The sheriff noted all agencies were “under the gun for manpower,” and budgets are difficult, “but there are times when I have to tell the chiefs that we do not have enough bodies for transport.
“We try to make things work, but things are more difficult now than in years past because of sheer numbers,” Milbrath continued. “If we did not have an assessment team (from human services) trying to find alternatives, I would literally have my county administrator and county board to request more bodies.”
He added that if transportation subjects increased by 50 or 100 people, that would become unsustainable.
“If we have violent person who needs to go to Green Bay, that takes two people, and that takes up their entire shift,” Milbrath added. “I know the chiefs appreciate that we can do it as often as we can, but they also understand that our hands are tied too. We play pretty well together.”
Officers often get delayed at hospitals, clinics or other facilities because of the admission paperwork and insurance matters that are required for admitting a subject, the panel noted. Many facilities have waiting lists and cannot always accept subjects, thus complicating issues even more.
This aspect of the conversation led Morris to ask: “When do we hit a threshold that leads to a complete breakdown? If we don’t have incarceration as an option, and we don’t have admittance into a clinic, that threshold has got to be coming soon?”
“Maybe it’s in the rear-view mirror,” Schimel said.
Braintmeier noted that video technology has aided in transportation costs for court hearing, but not every facility has video capability.
Both Weston and Happ noted that a more local solution might be beneficial for Jefferson County residents.
“There has to be a point where, instead of sending people to Fond du Lac or Waukesha, which costs a lot money, we start to build a facility here, where we can get these people in if they do not need to go the Department of Corrections,” Weston said. “We would save the state money, so maybe they could chip in. I think we may have reached that point.”
“I think we need to change our mindsets as prosecutors and cops,” Happ said. “We need the buy-in from people at this table and our county board to put time into writing grants, and put in the personal time to get these programs going.”
She compared the buy-in effort to being similar to the treatment court.
“I think if people understand that we are dealing strictly with an addiction issue, they will see it as money well spent,” Happ said. “Are we at a breaking point? Yes.
“What is the solution?” she asked, rhetorically. “It is really a matter of funding the programs that we know work. All of our officers get cards from human services for people who need a contact when they are ready for help. We need a mindset, a mind-shift, to look at it differently than just criminal.”
Wehmeier added that there now is “more contact” with people at the county jail, noting that there are nurses, doctors and human services personnel working with deputies.
“It’s a whole team,” he said.
After a lengthy discussion, the panel moved on to the other topics.
The panel briefly informed Schimel that one funding issue that the Legislature needs to address is to reimburse county sheriff departments for cellular 911 calls. Schimel had no immediate answers for that particular issue, since that issue was related to the state budget process.
However, the subject of attracting and maintaining new police recruits to the various municipal departments was one that was affecting all the chiefs at the table, and that generated much discussion but no universal solutions. However, Schimel said, technical colleges throughout the state have been working with local high schools to spread awareness of law enforcement careers.
The primary issue, the chiefs noted, was the decrease not just in qualified applicants for police officer positions, but an overall decrease in interest in police work as a career.
Milbrath noted that, unfortunately, the sheriff’s department and municipal departments often are competing against each other for the same candidates.
“It’s not just here, though, its nationwide,” he said.
Schimel asked how recruitment is compared to five or 10 years ago.
Fort Atkinson Police Chief Adrian Bump responded. “The difference between now and then is about 250 applicants for a community our size to maybe 30,” he said. “And then, only about half show up for the written test, leaving only one that might be worth hiring.”
Jefferson Police Chief Kenneth M. Pileggi observed that police work “was a noble calling,” but that many young people are not attracted to the field because of the work required, such as working on holidays. He added that one recent recruit, sponsored by the department, left the department after four months.
Watertown police chief Timothy Roets noted that police academies have raised standards for training, and the time it takes to complete training as well as costs can be prohibitive to some potential candidates. He said the state should look into making academies more affordable.
Lake Mills Police Chief Pat Matuszewski added he was horribly afraid that the day was approaching that standards for police candidates would have to drop.
Palmyra Public Safety Director James Small noted that there are more cops retiring than there are seats in police academies.
Kapsner, however, made a funding connection to the issue.
“All I have heard is money problems,” he said. “We have been limited on raising levies. Our emergency services in our town now consumes one-third of our budget. That is for fire, EMTs and police.
“That is a must — they have to be there,” Kapsner emphasized. “But, we cannot raise our levies, and the only thing we can do is borrow money, and that to me is a silly way to go. We have very little discretionary spending on the town level, and I am sure that is true for the county level.”
He continued: “Any increase in emergency services has to come from somewhere, and the only discretion we have in our budget is roads. Our road budget has gone from about $250,000 a year to about $50,000 a year. That won’t go anywhere. It won’t even sealcoat. I think we are going backward on this. That is going to have to change for all these police forces.”
After the meeting, Schimel was asked how Jefferson County compared to other law enforcement roundtables he has held, and if there was anything unique he discovered here.
“This is not unique — there are other places that are doing very well too, but this is a very high-functioning system,” he said. “When you hear what Human Services is doing with child protection work, with metal health issues, with addiction issues, it is highly engaged and collaborative.
“Clearly, the people at this table are not meeting for the first time,” Schimel concluded. “I am impressed with what is happening here. You should be proud of what your Jefferson County team is doing.”