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Milwaukee County

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JCO - Jco Milwaukee County Employee Review

2.0
16 Aug 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Many co-workers are genuine and caring. Working with kids, trying to make a difference in their lives. OT opportunities. Good experience for transition in criminal justice career. Other JCO's will usually take your OT if not needed. Sometimes OT is cancelled. Moving from 2nd to 1st shift is highly possible within a couple years.

Cons

Detention is very poorly managed. In a year's time, 2 Superintendent's were fired. A 3rd was hired temporarily but thank God he wasn't chosen for permanent position. Very high turnover rate. Poor wage rate for daily violent aspects of job. Pod tables and chairs are thrown at JCO's because they are not bolted to floor. Detainee's provided with endless chances and go unpunished for crimes like seriously injuring other detainee's requiring hospital stays. The newer limit of 4 hour restrictions isn't enough time to allow detainee's to learn their wrong-doings. Supervisors on 2nd shift are undeserving of their positions except for one newer supervisor. Many nights, they sit in the office watching sports instead of the pods. Inmate on officer injuries are frequent because detainee's provided with way too much leeway by detention policies and court system. You'll see this after a few months on the job. Training is thrown to the wolves. No academy for 2 years for some JCO's. I was "training" newly hired JCO's after 3 months in position because all the vet JCO's (with 2+ years experience) moved to 1st shift. Some JCO's gossip so much it ruins the positive atmosphere. Mainly stems from jealousy regarding wages (newer JCO's paid more than older JCO's; if chain of command is unsettled in anyway (newer JCO is put on a "safer" pod due to lack of training, angers some older JCO's who want that pod because they don't have to work as hard). Some JCO's do not have your back. Some JCO's encourage detainee's to fight. Some JCO's are so incompetent, creates very unsafe pod. Some JCO's are verbally abusive to the detainee's which creates hostility from detainee's towards JCO's who are not verbally abusive. Not right. Do not recommend working here unless you love engaging in this type of environment. Pay is not commensurate with experience. No wage increases in years. Benefit costs increase annually. When a few 15/20 year JCO vets abruptly resigned over policy issues (without providing 2 week notices), you know the management is bad. OT wasn't horrible (1 -8 hour shift a week, sometimes 2). If you have a family, job is hard to juggle. Working 230-11pm then 11pm to 7 am is difficult. Job is short term, bridge for other better jobs in LE.

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Milwaukee County Response
2y
Thank you for your feedback and it is valuable to us. We will review with the leadership team the issues you brought to our attention. We will certainly try to address the observations and experiences and work towards making it better to avoid similar situations or experiences in future. We are “CHANGEMAKERS” and you would experience a change towards this in future. Thank you in advance for understanding and giving us the opportunity to make it better.

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5.0
17 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Great paid time off for work life balance. Management is easy going and resourceful.

Cons

Parking is paid by employer - currently $117 per month.

2.0
12 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Guaranteed overtime Somewhat decent benefits

Cons

The pay is not worth the amount of work Expect to work mandatory overtime to equal out to approximately 150 hours in a pay period (2 weeks) Expect backlash from supervisors about not having a paper timesheet when they already have an electronic form in at exactly 8am when you are already running a dorm Expect to call for a quick break (bathroom or running down to the supervisors office) and it taking 4 or 5 announcements for someone to show up or 45 minutes for someone to show up. Not helpful when you are having an IBD flare up Expect backlash and unhelpful feedback from supervisors The handbook says all females that end up pregnant are to be put on light duty but there is only 1 light duty post that is generally filled already Expect to not have time to prioritize your health, safety, or wellbeing Expect to go through an FTO program that is garbage and misleading Expect to not go through jailers certification for 9-10 months after your start date even though you're probably gonna be told in your interview that it is within the first 90 days

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