Deputies wrote nearly 1,000 speeding tickets last month

Nearly 1,000 drivers have been ticketed for speeding on Milwaukee County freeways in the past month, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

The number of tickets — 999 — is 227 higher than were written in August, a 29% increase.

That’s the highest since April, when deputies wrote 1,151 tickets. The monthly average for 2017 was about 846 tickets, and the average for 2016 was 846.

The increased speeding enforcement was announced by Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt shortly after he took office Aug. 31 following the resignation of Sheriff David E. Clarke.

The “saturation patrols” involve sheriff’s deputies and has included help from troopers from the Wisconsin State Patrol.

The stepped up patrols started about a week after the sheriff’s department ended round-the-clock security at Clarke’s home. The bombastic former sheriff, who has taken a job with a political action committee supporting President Donald Trump, reportedly received numerous threats.

Last month, the Journal Sentinel reported that county taxpayers spent at least $226,000 on the security detail for Clarke. Schmidt said Friday that some of those hours were shifted to the additional freeway patrols.

Schmidt said the additional patrols amounted to a couple of hours per shift and are being conducted as part of normal work shifts and not overtime.

Deputies are finding plenty of speeders, he said in an interview.

“It’s a problem on the whole system. It’s rampant,” he said. “They’re coming in with some high numbers.”

Schmidt said he shifted staffing to help address a $5 million deficit in the department’s budget, and also “refocused the agency” to concentrate on basic law enforcement like speeding.

The department hopes to receive a State Patrol grant to help fund additional enforcement. It’s possible, he said, that additional funding could come for sheriff’s department patrols in the city of Milwaukee.

Schmidt, who was the No. 2 officer in the department under Clarke, is serving as acting sheriff until Gov. Scott Walker names a replacement who will serve as interim sheriff through 2018 when the position is up for election.

Schmidt interviewed for the interim job this week.

“I thought it went fantastic,” he said. Walker has not indicated when he will announce the appointment.

The sheriff said he’s received overwhelming positive response for the stepped up freeway patrols.

“They’re thrilled to death that we’re doing this.”