Prison video camera debate

SHEBOYGAN COUNTY - It's been three years since inmates tried to take over one of the housing units at Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution.

"They were throwing microwaves through the glass window at the sergeant," said Kyle Mayer, union president for the prison. "They were destroying the day room area; they were barricading themselves in the room. The sergeant ran out of the front door of the unit and waited for help."

As a result, the officer booths were fortified in the units and plans began for a better surveillance system.

Come December, a 170 camera security system is scheduled to be installed. But correctional officers say it will do them very little good because they will not be able to monitor the video in the housing units.

"You give them a monitor in the sergeant booth to view it will be more safety for the sergeant and that's what we're asking for," said Mayer.

"That's a legitimate point and there's been a lot of discussion about that very point," said Warden Mike Dittmann.

Dittmann says the main purposes of the system are deterrence and being able to review any incidents that happen. He says there is a risk of having officers rely too much on electronic surveillance.

"Our most valuable resource is our staff," said Dittmann. "We do not replace what you get with eyes and ears and verbalization that staff make with any kind of technology."

The plan is for all of the cameras to be monitored by a single staff in the control center.

The union says there are blind spots from some of the officer booths, which we were not able to go to, and if this system will not solve that the state should not spend the money at all while facing a budget deficit.

Mayer says this is not the first time video cameras have gone to waste. He says now-outdated equipment was purchased after the 2006 incident.

"They purchased $40,000 in camera," he said. "They are still sitting in boxes, never did a thing with them."

"I can't speak to the exact cost of it," said Dittmann. "I know cameras were purchased years back...simply adding camera to an already archaic system wasn't feasible."

While Dittmann says safety and smart spending are two off his biggest concerns, the union says they will keep taking its concerns to state officials until they are heard.

Warden Dittmann says the planning for the camera system has been part of a larger project by state to make comparable systems at several facilities.