Plan to improve state prison safety and conditions released

Governor Tony Evers and the Department of Corrections officials released a plan yesterday, aimed to improve safety and conditions at state prisons.

Part of that plan is a call for Waupun and Green Bay Correctional Institutions to restore regular movement for inmates. Both have been restricting inmate movement for months which has set off protests from inmate families as well as former inmates.

Officials have also set a goal of making Waupun a single-cell housing facility by March, which would mean transferring 220 inmates elsewhere to relief staffing pressures.

The administration is also updating policy which includes enhancements in emergency response procedures, new standards for security rounds, especially in restrictive housing units, and policy revisions to reduce the use of restrictive housing.