MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County jail inmates
can knock an hour off their sentence for each hour they spend on
some dirty work — cleaning up blood, feces, saliva and other
bodily fluids at the House of
Correction and Criminal Justice
Facility.
Sheriff David Clarke said it's a common-sense approach to
clean-up chores no one is eager to take on.
"Look, somebody has to do it," Clarke said. "It's cost effective
because the alternative is to pay a county worker to do the job.
With pay and benefits, that comes to $30 an hour."
Those who volunteer get biohazard training and protective
gear.
"This isn't heart surgery and it's not like we're asking them to
handle nuclear waste," Clarke said. "It's janitorial work and they
do have to be trained properly because of AIDS and hepatitis."
Records show two inmates have earned time off under the
program.
A 33-year-old-West Allis man convicted of
fraud on a taxicab driver, disorderly conduct
and criminal damage to property worked nearly
13 days off his sentence.
A 29-year-old Greenfield man convicted of
fraudulently obtaining a prescription drug
worked off almost 11 days.
The program has been approved by the county's judges and the
state jail inspector.
The union for county workers has no objections.
"It's not a job we're going to fight to keep," said union
president Kurt Zunker.