Oldest Portion of the City-County Building Jail Closing

August 02, 2022
Elise Schaffer, PIO, (608) 284-6142
Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Kalvin Barrett will begin closing a portion of the Dane County Jail. It’s been nearly six years since the Dane County Jail Update Study (Health and Life Safety) findings that “Dane County should not consider extending the life of the CCB Jail, but should work towards getting out of the building with due haste.”

Without a safe facility in Dane County, the Sheriff’s Office will begin shipping residents to other county jails. “A lack of safe and humane jail space, along with ongoing staffing shortages, has brought us to the difficult decision to place some of our jail residents in other counties. I will continue to advocate for a facility to be built in Dane County which reflects our community values,” said Sheriff Barrett.

The east section of the 7th floor of the City-County Building, which is the oldest area of the jail, will be closed and residents will be transferred to Rock, Iowa and Oneida County Jails. Approximately 65 men and women will be shipped out of county.

The Sheriff’s Office will also address staffing shortages by offering a lateral hiring opportunity for sworn positions. This will allow an officer or deputy from another agency to be hired without sacrificing their previous years of service. As of today’s date, Dane County is operating at more than 40 deputy positions under optimal staffing levels.