Emergency transportation for unhoused people is a ‘drain,’ new Wisconsin sheriffs say

After climbing the professional ladder in their respective hometowns, a pair of newly appointed Wisconsin sheriffs face similar challenges.

Gov. Tony Evers appointed Sheriff Craig Reukauf of Grant County and Sheriff Kerry Kirn of Clark County to the elected position fewer than six months ago after their predecessors resigned. The new sheriffs bring a combined 50 years of experience in law enforcement.

Reukauf began his career in 1998 as a jailer. Then, he became deputy, detective, sergeant and jail administrator. He was appointed in October after Sheriff Nate Dreckman resigned from his position to become county administrator.

In 1991, Kirn started in Grant County as a reserve deputy. Then, he became communications corrections deputy, patrol officer, detective and detective captain. He was appointed in July after Sheriff Scott Haines retired.

They recently spoke to WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” about county issues regarding recruitment and enforcement against illegal drugs.

Their greatest challenge, they said, is providing emergency transportation for unhoused people who need mental health support. 

“It’s a major drain on resources, especially for smaller agencies,” Reukauf said.

Reukauf and Kirn said their departments, along with other law enforcement agencies, become involved when these individuals lack other transportation options.

“It’s an emergency,” Reukauf said. “We’re required to provide that transportation.” 

They agreed that the majority of these cases are medical related and shouldn’t require law enforcement.

Reukauf said unsheltered individuals in southwestern Wisconsin typically wait in hospitals for nearly 12 hours for medical clearance.

“That ties up an officer sitting at the hospital,” Kirn added.

Depending on which mental health facility in the area has an open bed, law enforcement might need to travel with a patient for an additional three hours. 

For Grant and Clark counties, this means trekking to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh.

“Since we are short-staffed, we have contracted with private transport companies to fill that gap for us on occasion,” Kirn said.

He said the department works with Talon Protection Agency and REDI Transports, which both provide behavioral health and prisoner transport services throughout Wisconsin.

Solutions remain limited as Eau Claire County and the city of Eau Claire are seeking the legal opinion of Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul regarding law enforcement transports outside jurisdiction.

Enforcement against opioid crisis continues 

An additional challenge for sheriffs Kirn and Reukauf is the ongoing opioid crisis, which Kirn called a “plague.”

Both agreed that fentanyl is a significant concern as the majority of overdose deaths in the counties involve opioids 

“It’s a public health issue,” Kirn said. “We partner with social services, community services and mental health services at the county level.”

Reukauf said the Grant County Sheriff’s Office has a similar relationship with local partners and surrounding counties. This includes working with the Richland-Iowa-Grant Drug Task Force.

In Clark County, the sheriff’s department works closely with the West Central Drug Task Force to reduce illegal drug use — which the sheriffs said comes from repeat offenders in the area.

“The idea is to break their addiction and help them become clean and sober and become productive members of society,” Reukauf added.

As sheriff’s department applications decline, regional competition grows

Looking ahead, both sheriffs noted staffing challenges due to a significant decline in the number of people applying for a law enforcement job.

“We’re trying to figure out how internally to retain individuals, improve our culture,” Reukauf said.

Both agree that regional competition makes it harder to find and retain workers — even as Kirn in Clark County relies heavily on neighboring counties for recruitment. 

“We do not have a law enforcement technical college in our county,” Kirn said. “There are three of them in surrounding counties.”

“When I first started, there were 60 applicants for the same position,” he added. “Now, we’re lucky to get three applicants for one patrol position.”

Kirn began his appointment in October with 11 positions to fill. He said a few weeks ago the Clark County department hired three patrol positions.

Reukauf said the Grant County department is in a “good spot” for staffing, as the department works to fill one jailer position. 

He said the department attends career fairs at high schools and works closely with Southwest Wisconsin Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to recruit part-time help.

“We get a lot of our part-time help from people in criminal justice programs,” he said. “A lot of time, those lead to full-time positions.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated Wednesday to add information about the private companies Clark County utilizes for behavioral health transportation.