Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says he does not plan to ask the Wisconsin National Guard to help with understaffing in state prisons. The governor said this week that in order to dispatch the Guard, members would have to be appropriately trained — a process that takes time. Prisons are receiving more applicants for guard positions, thanks to an increase in the pay rate that went into effect last year. Waupun and Green Bay Correctional Institutions are still under some level of “modified movement,” meaning that those incarcerated may have less access to outside time, library time and visits with family. Those issues have been attributed to the lack of staff in the facilities. Officials say there aren’t enough guards to oversee all the different areas of the prison. Evers does have the ability to dispatch the National Guard in emergency situations, and did so during the COVID pandemic to help nursing home staffs. National Guard members were also trained to work in state-run mental health institutions in 2021. Guard members were also deployed to help protect the Wisconsin Capitol in 2020 and 2021 during protests.
