Assaults on Wisconsin corrections officers are up
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Image by Journal Broadcast Group
MADISON, Wis. - A startling report shows the number of attacks on prison staff is up within the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
The agency counts 84 assaults in the first four months this year, compared with 55 assaults in the first four months of 2011 and 58 assaults in the first four months of 2010.
Corrections Secretary Gary Hamblin says he is taking the report seriously, but notes that the figures may be off because of poor data tracking in past years.
Another problem with the data is that the state's 36 institutions have different definitions of assault. Hamblin says while some consider it an attack to lunge at an officer, others do not. And not all institutions consider it an assault if an inmate spits at an officer.
Hamblin says future data should be more accurate, in part, because the department now has consistent definitions of assaults.
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