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| Butler County's Jail Slated to Open July 1st |
| By pittsburghlive.com |
| Published: 05/29/2009 |
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Butler County's $40 million jail slated to open July 1 By Chuck Biedka, VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH About the facility • Cells: 512 • Size: 172,000 square feet • Guards: About 76, including 33 new ones, and 11 managers • Prisoner-guard ratio: About one guard for 63 inmates in the immediate cell areas, with more guards in general areas and others doing electronic surveillance. • Technology: Closed-circuit television cameras at entries and throughout the building; Internet capability throught the building. • Notable: Reception area has holding cells for people at risk of hurting themselves and a separate area for cooperative suspects who will be released from custody after posting bond. • Work release: Separate area for prisoners on work release. • Medical unit: Has an isolation unit if needed to combat medicine-resistant infection or even tuberculosis. • Prisoner jobs: Qualified prisoners will do the laundry or work in the kitchen for pay. The county's $40 million new jail will handle about 500 prisoners when it opens July 1. The six-story jail building — formally known as Butler County Prison — doesn't have a single jail cell bar, chuckled Warden Richard P. Gigliotti. Instead, the jail will rely on steel cell doors with reinforced windows and modern electronic locks to handle even the toughest prisoners. There are cells for people with mental or physical challenges, and a safe, padded room to handle a disgruntled man or woman brought into the jail by police. "County jails in Pennsylvania hold people accused of lesser crimes such as drunkenness and disorderly conduct," Gigliotti said. "But the same night, the jails might hold someone accused of murdering three people. "We have to handle minimum, medium and maximum security all the time." Guard Capt. Mike Rychorcewicz said: "Our jail isn't there to penalize people. We're there for their care, custody and control." The 172,000-square-foot jail is being completed several years later anticipated because of a series of delays throughout the process. One result is a substantially bigger price tag. The jail's $40 million cost is about $10 million more than the financing included in a bond issue initially obtained by the county commissioners. Contractual disputes also delayed construction. At one point, work was abruptly halted until a new general contractor was appointed to take over the project. Those disagreements are the subject of multi-million dollar lawsuits pending in federal and state courts for more than a year. "They probably won't be solved any time soon," said Julie Graham, the county's solicitor. Still, county commissioners and jail managers said they didn't have a choice. The new jail is needed. "If we didn't build this, we'd have a lot of issues with the (state) Department of Corrections" that inspects county jails, the warden said. Fixes overcrowding Crowding was a glaring problem. The new facility will replace a 1950s-vintage jail that was holding about 140 prisoners on Thursday — even though it was only designed to hold about 45. By July 1, prisoners in the county's existing lockup will be moved to the new cells, along with at least 75 Butler County prisoners who are being housed in surrounding county jails. Keeping that many inmates in Westmoreland and other county jails is costing county taxpayers about $1 million annually, the warden said. The new jail will have room to spare. The commissioners said during Thursday's jail tour that they hope to money for the county by rooming some federal prisoners and some from other counties. Westmoreland and other jails do the same by being reimbursed at a higher rate, commissioners said. State Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Franklin, whose district includes part of the county, liked what she saw during the tour. "I saw many jails as a public defender and as legislator," she said. "This is not luxurious. It's highly functional." Gigliotti said the prison was designed with expansion in mind. An additional 300 cells can be added to the rear of the building while using the same kitchen, heating and other infrastructure. The jail will separate prisoners into groups of 32 inmates, housed in single cells. There will be two tiers of 16 cells in each group, or pod. Cells for women will have a washer and dryer in the pod and some isolation rooms. The pods allow inmates to shower adjacent to their cells. Tables in common areas will be used for eating, writing, reading and perhaps larger supervised gatherings. There are two multipurpose rooms that they didn't have before, Capt. Rychorcewicz said. "They can have drug-and-alcohol help, GED, religious services, or classes, and you don't have to take them off the pod," he said. There will be less staffing per inmate, but more security, the captain said. Meals will be prepared in the kitchen, where some prisoners will be watched by a guard while they help a cook. Food trays will be taken to each pod three times a day. Prisoners with visiting privileges will still stay in their pod. To greet visitors, they will go to a room with a reinforced window at one end. Their friends or family will sit on the other side of the glass. Violent or mentally ill prisoners will be temporarily taken to behavioral management cells -- an updated version of a padded cell -- to protect themselves and others. No added fencing Westmoreland County's jail added fencing to railing around its tiers after an inmate jumped in a suicide attempt. The same man climbed the fence, jumped again and survived. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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