Milwaukee County Sheriff clarifies jail tablet policies for inmates

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Published September 10, 2026 9:11 PM CDT

The Brief

    • The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is clarifying the jail's electronic tablet policies.
    • MCSO says tablets are standard devices funded entirely by user and family fees, not taxpayers.
    • Devices use a closed intranet without internet access, phone, or video calling. Messaging is strictly monitored, keyword-flagged, and requires recipient identity verification.

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Sheriff is responding to what she calls "misinformation" about the county jail's tablet policies.

Initial commentary

What we know:

This became an issue in the race for governor after a Milwaukee County judge went on a rant during a case back in August.

A man accused of killing three people faces new allegations of threatening to intimidate a witness while using a tablet in jail.

Response from MCSO

What we know:

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office wants to clarify, saying the tablets cannot access the internet. They're in a closed network and cannot place or receive phone calls.

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MCSO says communication with the outside world is tightly controlled.

When an inmate tries to reach someone outside the jail — that recipient must have an account with a verified government ID.

Letter from the Office of the Sheriff

Also, the sheriff stresses that in another case, an inmate only attempted to contact a victim more than 1,500 times. And once they identified the misuse, they revoked the inmate's communication privileges.

Additionally, MCSO says the cost for the electronic devices comes from fees paid by those in the jail and their families. The money does not come from the county budget or taxpayers.

The Source: Information from this post comes from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

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