Milwaukee County’s deputies’ union is calling for inmate tablet messaging to be suspended at both the Criminal Justice Facility and the Community Reintegration Center, while warning that ending the service without an operational plan could create safety challenges in an already understaffed jail. County Executive David Crowley said Oct. 9 that he had directed the Community Reintegration Center to suspend tablet messaging after allegations that some inmates used the service to threaten victims. He also urged the Sheriff’s Office to take similar action at the Milwaukee County Jail, also known as the Criminal Justice Facility. In a statement, Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs’ Association President Carlos Bruno said the suspension should apply across the county’s correctional system. He also called on county leaders to explain who has the authority to suspend the program and what happens if county officials and the sheriff disagree. The County Board established and funded the program, while the Sheriff’s Office agreed to implement it, Bruno said. The union supports suspending messaging but said tablets have become one tool for managing daily operations amid staffing shortages. Bruno said people held in the jail are routinely confined to their housing units until about 10 a.m. Removing messaging without a broader plan, he warned, could raise tensions and increase the risk of confrontations or disturbances. The dispute puts two concerns before county leaders: addressing allegations of harmful contact with victims while accounting for how changes to a jail program could affect people in custody and staff. The available information does not say whether the Sheriff’s Office has suspended messaging at the jail or how county officials will resolve the question of authority.