County replaces jail guards with civilian officers

RACINE, Wis. (AP) - Racine County will soon staff its jail entirely with civilian personnel at an estimated $100,000 in annual savings.

The county jail was once staffed by sworn sergeants, with a beginning annual salary of about $75,000. Like other big Wisconsin counties, Racine County looked for ways to save money and began to replace the sworn officers with civilian sergeants, whose starting pay is about $37,000.

Beginning in 2013, all nine sergeants at the jail will be civilians, whose training is focused on a corrections environment. The Journal Times says two sworn lieutenants and one sworn captain will oversee the sergeants.