Connecting the D.O.T.S. (Discipline-Order-Training-Structure)
Reform in Corrections in Milwaukee County
by Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.
Beginning December 1, 2010, the County Correctional Facility, (formerly known as the House of Correction) in Franklin, Wisconsin, will undergo a change in philosophy. The current model has been ineffective and costly and is doing nothing to reduce recidivism. The inmate returns to the community the same flawed person as when he/she was sentenced. The new approach will give inmates a better chance at thriving in a community full of dysfunction, temptations and opportunities to re-offend. A foundation of discipline, order, training and a structured environment will be at the core of inmate programming. Some of these changes have already been implemented and have led to a reduction in fights among inmates. These fights have been an on-going problem in the past, and can lead to large-scale disturbances.
Our self-discipline format is modeled after numerous successful programs throughout the country. It will provide offenders with the tools to transform the way they process and respond to information so they will make more socially acceptable decisions in their lives, rather than repeating the behavior that landed them in jail in the first place.
The current failed model (one-size-fitsall) operates from the flawed premise that everyone can be reformed. It’s the tired, old, coddling, handholding and excusemaking approach. I call it the great American fairytale. The truth is that not all people can be saved from themselves. Only through the sheer determination of the individual, along with a support system, can people be saved from themselves. All you have to do is to look at the recidivism rates to know this is a failed model. The status quo in corrections in Milwaukee County has become too costly to continue. To stay on this path will lead to a financial strain that Milwaukee County taxpayers cannot afford. It will lead to dangerous public policy experiments like the state of Wisconsin Department of Corrections’ “early release” of prison inmates. Already struggling neighborhoods will be overwhelmed by this influx of career criminals.
We simply cannot afford to operate like this any longer. We have limited resources and they are expensive. We have to make sure that when we use resources, they are well spent and in this case that means reducing the likelihood that people will reoffend, if for no other reason than to keep others from being victimized. Just releasing inmates back into our neighborhoods unprepared to productively thrive, and “hoping” they don’t re-offend, is not a solution--it’s reckless.
I’ve taken one year to fully assess this facility since taking over on January 1, 2009, and my initial observation is that it has been run like a retreat. It’s a failed social engineering experiment. I will no longer allow this confinement facility to be used as a social engineering lab by misguided social do-gooders. We don’t even require that inmates get out of bed in the morning. They generally just lay around and hangout while everything is handed to them. No one has to work for or earn privileges. An entitlement mentality among inmates has permeated the facility. Basically the correction officers serve more as attendants. Bad behavior or noncompliance of institutional rules is tolerated. It’s no wonder criminals don’t mind coming back. Let me make this very clear: I’m running a correctional facility not a resort! They’ll be treated humanely, but it will not be four-star, three-star, or even two-star service. I assure the weakkneed social do-gooders that this facility will be run in compliance with state Department of Corrections and National Institute of Corrections regulations.
This new mindset is evident by the name change. We no longer call it the “House” of Correction. It’s referred to as the County Correctional Facility-South (CCFS). Just the term “house” conjures up warm and cozy thoughts, and a comeback- again-soon attitude. That’s over. The welcome mats have been removed from the entrances. When a convicted inmate finishes his or her time here they will leave with two things, life-skills to thrive in an orderly society and a sense that they never want to come back again. Unlike in business, I don’t want repeat customers. Repeat customers in my business is a sign that our criminal justice philosophy is flawed.
The new quasi-military style model will focus on discipline, order, training and structure; the four most critical features in any successful law-abiding person’s life. Every program we offer will be wrapped around these virtues. There seems to be an aversion in some circles to the term “boot camp.” This model works for our men and women serving this country. Why is it too harsh an experience for those who have continually disregarded society’s rules? Anyone who went through basic training in the military, Army Ranger or Navy SEAL school, attended one of the military service academies, police and fire recruit school, or participated in organized sports at any level and was successful, understands the importance of structure, order and discipline along with a noexcuse philosophy.
Think about it. Career criminals have never been instilled with structure, order and discipline - never. Their lives are totally chaotic and disorganized. Their dysfunctional families didn’t provide it as children, and our K-12 public education system certainly doesn’t offer it either. In fact the liberal orthodoxy that has a stranglehold on our public education system abhors programs designed around order, structure and discipline. They see it as stifling to human development. I see it as essential to functioning adults. Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board opined (July 13, 2010) that this program “deserves a chance.”
Our lenient criminal justice system certainly doesn’t demand discipline, order or structure from criminals. Too many buy into “the devil made them do it” defenses, and the folly of second, third and fourth chances, instead of punishment and responsibility. I’m not talking about draconian measures; I’m talking about a model that has a better chance of deterring criminal behavior. Empirical research shows that this approach over time will help reduce recidivism.
Even the names given to the latest fads “alternatives to incarceration” and “second chance programs” make soft-on-crime advocates feel warm and fuzzy all over. They refer to offenders ‘being in conflict with the law” and “finding themselves on the wrong side of the law” instead of what these acts are, criminal acts that people must be held to accountable for. These same advocates think terms such as jail, prison, criminal and punishment have a “stigmatizing” effect. They are right. Committing crime should have a stigmatizing effect, especially on the perpetrator. These same advocates then wonder why our young men, and even young girls today exhibit narcissistic antisocial behavior in the form of settling disputes with firearms and other means of physical force, taking someone’s property by force, getting their way by threatening and intimidating others, and selling and abusing alcohol and drugs. Add to this the self-defeating pathologies of school failure and having children out of wedlock and you have the recipe where committing crime becomes a lifestyle. Everyone currently locked-up here now fits into more than one of these categories.
The reason we see criminal behavior repeated is because the soft, ineffective model of reform has no deterrent effect. Criminals see this soft model of reform as a minor inconvenience for their criminal behavior and they exploit it. That’s if they get caught. Self discipline, respect for authority, courtesy, adherence to orders, respect for others, self-respect, persistence, determination, honesty and an ability to overcome hardship and obstacles will take them further in life than a ridiculous class on how to fill out a job application. Under my model, when we’re through with them they’ll have more to offer society, their families or an employer than these current programs provide.
Jail space in Milwaukee County is finite. My preference is to build additional lock-up space and keep more criminals behind bars. However, with the county's financial predicament that is not an affordable option. It is our costliest form of protecting society, and if we don't change the way we use jail bed space our confinement option will collapse under the weight of budgetary strain. We therefore have to be strategic about who we use jail beds for. Limited jail bed space has to be reserved for our most violent offenders. This stresses the need to formulate a reentry plan that efficiently and effectively uses the public’s assets and gives offenders the tools to make a cognitive decision to change their behavior through instilling self-discipline, order and structure in their lives to overcome the temptations of criminal behavior and to stay out of jail. I cannot force offenders to change, but I will provide the environment and the opportunity for offenders to develop their character and give them the chance to succeed.
This program will be piloted with a dormitory of selected inmates and will slowly be implemented throughout the entire facility. We have consulted subject matter experts for direction. We will work with current and retired military personnel well versed in the theory and execution of this training model. The program director is both a sheriff deputy sergeant, and a trained army drill sergeant who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in active duty. He replaces a social worker who previously directed inmate programs. My vision for this new approach to corrections in Milwaukee County is to have military veterans as advisors. Eventually I want to have the entire operation staffed by them. Once an environment of structure, order and discipline is achieved, we’ll need fewer people to run this place, and the taxpayers and society will be the winners.