Jail Services

History

The first jail was built in La Crosse County in 1858 and over the years the location and size of the jail changed to meet the needs of the justice system. In 1965 the 4th Street jail, designed for male and female, adult and juvenile inmates, opened on the second floor of the current Administrative Center. The linear jail was originally created with 60 beds plus 10 receiving cells. As the jail population grew, an area of the first floor in the Administrative Center was remodeled as a 54 bed male Huber facility. Huber inmates are given the privilege of leaving the jail to go to work, counseling, school or treatment. They must submit a schedule of their activities, have it verified and approved before they may be released. Juveniles were moved out of the jail and into a new Juvenile Detention Facility that opened in 1990. Again the population grew and in 1992 the former Montgomery Ward's Service Center, across the street from the 4th Street jail, was remodeled "temporarily" as a 110-bed male Huber facility. The old first floor Huber area became a "Medium Security" area for male inmates in the still overcrowded second floor jail.

As the jail population continued to increase, a decision was made to build a new Law Enforcement building which would provide housing for inmates along with the offices and space for the Sheriff's Dept., 911 Dispatch, Court System and District Attorney. The original plan included a jail facility in excess of 400 beds. The final building provided 172 beds in the 8-pod (17 to 30 beds per pod) housing unit on the second floor of the Law Enforcement Center and 23 receiving cells with a 7-bed medical area on the lower level.

The new jail in the Law Enforcement Center opened in September of 1997. Due to lack of space and the need for inmates to be housed utilizing objective classification (a system of housing assignments based on current charges, past criminal and jail behavior records), the female population remained in the old second floor 4th Street jail. The County Board authorized necessary repairs to be made to comply with state mandates and passed a resolution to limit the number of females to be held in the facility at a maximum of 39. The "Medium Security" area in the Administrative Center was closed and the "temporary" Male Huber Facility remained operational for a total bed capacity of 321. On January 1, 2006 the Male Huber Facility was closed; the bed capacity was reduced to 211.

In November of 2008, ground was broken for a 29.5 million dollar addition to the 1997 Law Enforcement Center. Jail expansion plans included a new kitchen, jail garage, booking, master control, two 57-bed direct supervision blocks, increased program space and remodeling of three existing housing blocks along with the medical and receiving holding cell area of the existing jail. On 02/23/11 the old 1960's "Female Jail" closed and all inmates were housed in the Law Enforcement Center Jail with a bed capacity of 274 plus 49 receiving/medical and close supervision cells.

Bond Posting

During Regular Business Hours (Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.):

• County of La Crosse Bonds:
  • Payment can be made in person at the Clerk of Courts Office, Room 1200 – Law Enforcement Center, 333 Vine Street, La Crosse. Acceptable forms of payment are cash, money orders, cashier's check, or major credit cards. No personal checks are accepted.
  • Or, you can make payment online or over the phone to AllPaid with your credit card.
  • Online at Allpaid.com - https://allpaid.com/plc/1411 (a transaction fee will be added)
  • Phone: 1-888-604-7888 (a transaction fee will be added). Use Facility Code 1411
  • If you have questions about this process, contact the Clerk of Courts office at (608)785-9573
• City of La Crosse Municipal Bonds
  • Payment can be made in person at the City Treasurer's Office, 400 La Crosse Street. Acceptable forms of payment are cash, money order, or personal check. Checks should be made out to "City Treasurer."
  • Or, you can make payment online or over the phone to Official Payments with your credit card.
  • Online at: www.officialpayments.com (a transaction fee will be added)
  • Phone: 1-800-272-9829 (a transaction fee will be added)
  • If you have questions about this process, contact the Municipal Court at (608)789-7290

After Regular Business Hours and on Weekends

• All Bonds:
  • Payment can be made in person a the La Crosse County Jail – Master Control, 333 Vine Street, La Crosse. Acceptable forms of payment are money orders, cashier's check, or major credit cards. No personal checks or cash is accepted.
  • Or, you can make payment online or over the phone to GovPayNow with your credit card.
    • Online at Allpaid.com - https://allpaid.com/plc/1411 (a transaction fee will be added)
    • Phone: 1-888-604-7888 (a transaction fee will be added). Use Facility Code 1411

Will I get my bond money back?

• If a defendant fails to comply with any conditions of bond, the bond money could be forfeited.
• If the defendant is found guilty, the bond will be applied to any restitution, fine or costs.
  

Public Fingerprinting

The La Crosse County Jail provides fingerprinting for the public at the jail (333 Vine Street, the south-west entrance, closest to Third St/Vine St), by appointment only on Wednesdays from 7:00p - 9:00p and Saturdays from 10:00a - Noon. To schedule an appointment, call the Business Office at (608)785-9629 during normal business hours (Monday - Friday, 8:00a - 4:30p).

Walk-ins will not be accepted. 

We no longer provide ink fingerprinting, we only provide electronic.  If you require ink, please contact either LAXPrint (146 Rose St, La Crosse, 608-783-6440) or Winona County Sheriff (507-457-6368).  

Staffing

Staffing for the La Crosse County Jail facilities includes:

• 1 Jail Administrator
• 6 Sergeants
• 51 Jailers
• 2 Jail Classification Officers
• 1 Jail Chaplain
• 1 Program Coordinator
• 1 Account Clerk
• 1 Jail Administrative Associate
• Jail Volunteers

In addition, we contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare to provide medical services for the inmates.

Our meals are prepared on site through a contract with ARAMARK, Inc.

Visitation Rules - Onsite:

• Each adult visitor must have their own approved visitation account through the Securus Website
• Use of someone else’s Securus Visiting account is not permitted
• Each visit is limited to one approved adult, who may bring one pre-approved minor for the entire duration
• To pre-approve the minor, their name and birthdate must be registered under each specific visit
• The following devices may not be used or within sight of an on-site visit:
• Vaping devices or e-cigarettes
• Cell phones, tablets, or any other smart recording device
• Inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated, which includes but not limited to:
• Exposure of private parts or undergarments
• Sexual behavior and gestures that could be identified as sexual in nature
• Gang signs
• Damage to property
• Former inmates must wait 60 days from release to visit

*Failure to comply with these rules will result in suspension of visitation privileges.

Visitation Rules - Remote (from home):

• Each adult visitor must have their own approved visitation account through the Securus Website
• Use of someone else’s Securus Visiting account is not permitted
• The registered visitor must be present
• Each visitor shall only visit with the inmate who they are registered to visit with
• Inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated, which includes but not limited to:
• Exposure of private parts or undergarments
• Sexual behavior and gestures that could be identified as sexual in nature. This includes pornography and sexually graphic photographs
• Gang signs
• Illegal/criminal behavior
• Former inmates must wait 60 days from release to visit
• No pictures or screenshots will be taken during visits

*Failure to comply with these rules will result in suspension of visitation privileges. 

Removal of Records From Criminal History

If the Court has ordered your record to be expunged, you still need to follow-up with the Wisconsin Crime Information Bureau to remove the arrest data from your Criminal History.  For step-by-step information on this process, refer to the brochure below created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

• Wisconsin DOJ Brochure: Removal of Arrest Information (How Can arrest information be removed from my criminal record?)
• Wisconsin DOJ Form:  Instructions for completing a Wisconsin Fingerprint Record Removal request form

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