The Wisconsin State Senate voted unanimously yesterday afternoon to approve Senator André Jacque’s corrections contraband legislation, which will help crack down on unsafe prison conditions. The De Pere native said in a news release, “This common-sense legislation closes the current contraband loophole, identified by corrections officers, which endangers both corrections employees and inmates.” Under current law, it is illegal to smuggle a prohibited item into a prison and distribute it to someone else, but only a simple rules violation for someone found in possession of the prohibited items. These items are often very dangerous in a corrections setting, and actual confiscated items were displayed or discussed by the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department Administrator, Capt. Dave Kiesner, when he testified at the Senate and Assembly hearings on the legislation.
