FOX 11 appeals decision to keep inmate employers secret

Do taxpayers have a right to know where prison inmates are working? The Wisconsin Department of Corrections doesn't think so.

On Wednesday, FOX 11 On Special Assignment first reported on the state's work release program, where hundreds of prison inmates in Wisconsin are holding down jobs on the outside. We wanted to find out where. But so far, the Department of Corrections has refused to release that information. Now, FOX 11 decided to file an appeal.

• Click here to read the letter denying FOX 11's Open Records request
• Click here to read FOX 11's appeal

The records we have seen tell us this: Right now, there are 759 inmates on work release across the state, 176 of them in northeast Wisconsin. The inmates currently work at 165 Wisconsin companies. Nineteen of those businesses are in northeast Wisconsin.

We asked the Department of Corrections where the inmates are working in northeast Wisconsin. But the agency denied our formal Open Records request.

In a letter to FOX 11, the Department expressed "security concerns" about the public knowing the names of the employers in the program... saying the release of that information could "enhance the potential for escape" and lead to "disruption at the work place."

The Department also says "it is difficult to recruit employers to participate in the program." The DOC argues that releasing the information "may cause the loss of current employers" who are afraid of being seen in a negative light for hiring inmates.

In our appeal, FOX 11's legal counsel argues "...the public should be aware when and where convicted criminals supposed to be imprisoned are out and about in the public sphere."

As for having an impact on the program, FOX 11 believes, "The voting public should be afforded the opportunity to determine for itself if the program's purported benefits... ...outweigh the risk of allowing convicted inmates into the general populace."