Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Corrects Misinformation About Jail Communication Technology
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) is setting the record straight amid a wave of public claims about technology available to individuals held in the Milwaukee County Jail.
MILWAUKEE, WI–September 10, 2026–The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is setting the record straight amid a wave of public claims about technology available to individuals held in the Milwaukee County Jail. Recent characterizations of this technology in news coverage and public commentary have been inaccurate, and the Sheriff’s Office believes the public deserves clear, factual information.
The tablets are not paid for with tax dollars. The devices provided to jail occupants are not “iPads” and are not purchased with public funds. They are standard, “generic” tablets supplied by IC Solutions, a contracted communications provider, under an agreement the county has held since 2021. The contract is funded entirely through fees paid by occupants and their families for optional use of the devices — not through the county budget or taxpayer dollars.
The tablets cannot access the internet. These devices operate on a closed, provider-managed network — similar to an intranet — that offers access only to pre-approved content such as law library materials, educational courses, music, and movies. Additionally, general, non-privileged occupant mail is scanned and uploaded to the tablets for occupants to view. The tablets cannot browse the internet, and claims that occupants have used them to view pornography are false. The devices also cannot place or receive phone or video calls.
Written communication with the outside world is tightly controlled. Occupants cannot use the tablets to contact just anyone. Any attempted communication triggers a notification to the intended recipient, who must independently create a verified account — including submitting a government ID matched to a live photo — and affirmatively choose to accept contact before any exchange can occur. This mirrors the consent process long used for collect calls from correctional facilities. Occupants also do not have around-the-clock access; the system is available only during limited, scheduled windows each day.
MCSO actively monitors this system and holds violators accountable. While it is not feasible to review every message in real time, MCSO works with its technology partner and other system safeguards, including keyword-based flagging, to identify concerning communications. When misuse is identified, MCSO acts. In one widely reported case, an occupant who attempted contact with a victim more than 1,500 times had his communication privileges revoked and faced additional criminal charges as a result. The Sheriff’s Office takes any misuse of this system seriously and will continue to pursue consequences when violations occur.
Laptop access is separate, limited, and secured. Separately, jail occupants may be granted brief access to laptops in secured rooms solely to review legal case materials in preparation for attorney meetings or court proceedings. These laptops are not issued to occupants to keep and are never taken back to housing units. In one past instance, an occupant exploited a technical gap to bypass county firewalls and access explicit material. That gap was identified, the occupant’s access was revoked, and the vulnerability was corrected. No similar incident has occurred since.
This technology is standard practice and non-partisan, not a Milwaukee County anomaly. Tablet-based communication systems like the one used in the Milwaukee County Jail and the Community Reintegration Center are in wide use across the country and across Wisconsin. Similar systems are currently used by county jails in Dane, Brown, Waukesha, Racine, and Rock counties, by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and numerous state and county correctional systems nationwide, across dozens of states that span the political spectrum. Why? Because detention sector experts agree that these tablets help enhance facility safety and behavior management, help reduce recidivism through re-entry and education programs available to users, help lower administrative costs and staff burdens, and help prevent volatility that can arise from psychological deterioration when jails or prisons enter physical lockdowns for security, staffing, or health concerns.
“Our office has an obligation to run the Milwaukee County Jail safely, securely, and in a way that holds people accountable when they break the rules,” said Sheriff Denita Ball. “We also have an obligation to make sure the public has accurate information. Misrepresenting how this technology works — or who pays for it — doesn’t make anyone safer. It just spreads misinformation.”
The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to transparency about jail operations and will continue to correct inaccurate claims about its facilities and technology as they arise.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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