Feeling cooped up and yelled at by government lately? Be glad you’re not a convict behind barbed wire (unless you are. We do have subscribers). Disobey orders from behind the fence, mind you, and a ticket or scowl is the least of your worries. Throw a liquid that doesn’t reach staff, and you could even face ‘attempted assault’ charges. In which case, you’re in trouble. Do it enough, and you could get the isolation treatment.

Said isolation treatment, also known as ‘restricted housing’ or ‘disciplinary separation,’ is tracked by the State, with numbers available down at the State Department of Corrections website at doc. wi.gov, dated for December 31, 2020.

Beginning with south of 29 on X, New Year’s Eve saw a total of 26 PIOC (“Persons In Our Care”) at Stanley Correctional facing disciplinary separation, three with a stay over 30 days, the average stay locally listed as 16.3 days, and zero of said people with an ‘SMI,’ or ‘serious mental illness.’ Moving east meanwhile to Green Bay, the number of prisoners in disciplinary separation was listed at 99, with four having a stay of over 30 days and eight with a serious mental illness. The average number of days in restrictive housing for inmates at Green Bay Correctional, meanwhile, was 52.5, with the DOC website stating that such statistics are tracked with the goal ot reducing the need for such measures.

Switching back east and south a touch to Jackson Correctional Instiution, New Year’s Eve saw 26 inmates in disciplinary separation, with three having stays over 30 days, one with a diagnosed ‘serious mental illness’ and an average length stay of 21. 4 days. Shifting back east to Taycheedah Correctional Institution (used for female prisoner intake purposes) at the south end of Lake Oshkosh, and December 31, 2020 saw 27 people in disciplinary separation, with 10 having a stay of over 30 days, 19 with a diagnosed ‘serious mental illness’ (the rate is higher among female prisoners compared to men, for unexplained reasons), and an average stay in disciplinary separation housing of 38.9 days. The four example institiutions above represent just a fraction of the data available. So what got them there? The answers might suprise you.

‘Weapons,’ cited in just 87 single cause reports, made up just 0.4 percent of total discplinary seaparations, though at 56 days average consequence it certainly isn’t an infraction you’d want. Refusing either work or school, meanwhile, at just two instances, resulted in an average disciplinary separation of six days, the shortest time period imposed. Leaving your assigned area, listed in four instances as a single cause event, resulted in an average 9 days confinement to disciplinary separation. The top infaction for number of cases though?

‘Disobeying Orders,’ cited as a single cause in 10.2 percent of instances or 1,991, the average penalty imposed being 38 days in disciplinary separation. ‘Assault on Employee’ was cited in 202 single cause conduct reports, with an average of 112 days imposed, the longest time period. Following this was ‘Escape,’ with just 23 instances cited but an average 106 days of separation imposed as punishment. Not all data at the DOC website was so depressing though. Take recidivism.

Make it to your three-year release anniversary as an ex-convict, per the state numbers and you’re in decent shape, so far as not getting sent back is measured. Most “return to jail” arrests take place in the first months after return to larger society, with a steady decrease up to 36 months, at which time recorded follow-up data ends. Should you or someone you know be up for release soon, don’t lose hope.