Preserving Public Safety: The Urgent Need to Retain Vacant Positions in the Dane County Sheriff’s Office
Sheriff Kalvin D. Barrett
by Sheriff Kalvin D. Barrett
As the Sheriff of Dane County, I have dedicated my career to ensuring the safety and well-being of all community members. Today, I stand proud as a public servant committed to the principles of character, competence, compassion, courage, and communication that define our sheriff’s office.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) stands as the largest full-service sheriff’s office in the state of Wisconsin, with 472 sworn deputies and 120 professional staff members who work tirelessly to protect our communities. However, proposed staffing cuts threaten to undermine this vital work at a time when we need more resources, not fewer. I urge our county leaders and taxpayers to prioritize public safety by retaining all vacant positions that are essential for the opening of our new jail in 2027.
Dane County is on the cusp of a long-overdue upgrade to our correctional facilities. The updated jail project, slated to open in 2027, represents a significant investment in modern, humane infrastructure that will replace the outdated City-County Building Jail—a facility that is not only inefficient but also borderline unconstitutional in its current state. Maintaining this antiquated jail drains taxpayer dollars on patchwork repairs and operational inefficiencies, all while failing to meet contemporary standards for jail resident care and staff safety. Yet, without adequate staffing, the new jail simply cannot open. Cutting vacant positions now would force us to keep the old jail operational indefinitely, wasting millions in public funds that could be better directed toward effective public safety initiatives.
This is not merely a logistical concern; it’s a matter of life and safety for our residents. Staffing cuts directly translate to slower response times in emergencies — whether it’s a deputy racing to a domestic violence call, a traffic accident, or a medical crisis. In the jail itself, understaffing compromises security, increases the risk of incidents, and strains our ability to provide rehabilitative services that reduce recidivism. We lose positions; we lose people — and it is people who make public safety possible. Our deputies and staff are the backbone of Dane County’s safety, responding to over 100,000 calls for service each year while managing a jail population that demands constant vigilance.
Critics may frame this as a budgetary debate, but let’s be clear: this is not about politics. It’s about people — the families who rely on swift emergency responses, the jail residents who deserve safe and constitutional conditions, and the dedicated professionals who serve with unwavering integrity. By retaining these vacant positions, we ensure that DCSO can recruit and train high-caliber individuals who embody our core values. These are not abstract roles; they are the deputies who will patrol our streets and operate the jail with the professional staff who ensure seamless operations. Filling these vacancies will allow us to build on our strengths, enhancing community trust and operational effectiveness.
Dane County has always prided itself on forward-thinking governance. Now is the time to invest in our future by safeguarding these positions.
Delaying the new jail’s opening through shortsighted cuts would not only squander taxpayer investments but also erode the public safety net that protects us all. I call on our Dane County Board to retain the vacancies, staff the new jail, and commit to a safer Dane County for generations to come. Public safety isn’t a line item — it’s our shared responsibility.