The Brief The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office suspended the inmate tablet messaging feature following reports of improper contact with potential witnesses. Inmates maintain access to legal research, educational tools, entertainment, phone calls, video visits and in-person visits. The suspension matches a recent decision at the Community Reintegration Center while officials conduct a complete protocol review.



The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office has suspended the messaging feature on tablets supplied to jail inmates, the agency announced Tuesday.

Jail inmate tablets

What we know:

Inmates will still be able to use tablets for legal research, education and entertainment. They can still connect with family and friends through phone calls, video visitation and in-person visits.

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MCSO said the decision to pause the messaging feature will allow the agency to review protocols - and put new ones in place - in response to confirmed incidents of inmates inappropriately using the feature to contact potential witnesses in their criminal cases.

Dig deeper:

According to the sheriff's office, the tablets do not have internet access and cannot make phone or video calls. Messages can only be exchanged with verified recipients, and inmates have limited daily access to the devices. Inmates and their families - not county taxpayers - fund tablet services through fees.

Milwaukee County Jail

What's next:

The sheriff's office said the messaging feature will remain suspended until it is confident that any protocol changes will protect victims and witnesses without compromising security.

What we don't know:

MCSO did not outline what its existing protocols for inmate tablet use include. It's not clear when any changes to existing protocols would take effect.

The backstory:

As Milwaukee County executive, David Crowley signed off on the tablet program in 2022. Last Friday, he paused messaging on tablets at the Community Reintegration Center, the county's other adult detention facility.

Crowley at the time urged 
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