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| A County in Search of Prisoners |
| By Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Published: 10/22/2001 |
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Charles P. Sexton Jr. would like to see more prison cells - a lot more prison cells - built at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Delaware County's prison. It's not that Sexton, the head of the county board that oversees the prison operation, is expecting a Delaware County crime wave. The 1,634-bed prison, opened in 1998 and operated for the county by Wackenhut Corrections Corp., has more than enough space for all of the county's inmates. Instead, he wants to greatly expand the county's current practice of taking in prisoners from other counties, because that policy brings in millions of dollars and promises millions more - money that could help pay the substantial cost of housing Delaware County inmates. The county prison, on Cheyney Road in Concord Township, houses about 375 prisoners a day from the overcrowded Chester County and Philadelphia prison systems. Next month, a new building will open on the prison site, enabling Delaware County to bring in even more. Sexton said last week that he hoped to build a 400-bed prison wing for out-of-county inmates. 'The kitchen already has the capacity to feed more prisoners; the sewage hookup is OK,' he said. 'There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to take in that many more and bring in a lot more money that way. All we need is a long-term commitment [from Chester County or Philadelphia] for us to go ahead' with the expansion. Sexton's proposal comes as Chester County and Delaware County officials are negotiating short-term and long-term solutions to Chester County's prison overcrowding. The matter is expected to be discussed at a Chester County prison board meeting. No talks are being held with Philadelphia, but Sexton said he expected the city to be sending more: 'I believe the overcrowding will continue, and it will make economic sense to handle it by sending them to us.' According to Sexton and prison warden James Janecka, between 90 and 95 Chester County prisoners a day are sent to the Delaware County prison, for a fee of $57 a day. That includes all of Chester County's female prisoners (about 60 to 65 women). Chester County's 541-bed men's prison is often overcrowded, even with the overflow going to Delaware County, officials there said recently. The Delaware County prison also takes in 275 to 280 Philadelphia prisoners a day, charging $60 a day for each. Philadelphia, too, has struggled with prison overcrowding; the city was under court orders to cut its prison numbers for most of the last 20 years. |
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