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| Schuylkill County prison searches for way to deal with overcrowding |
| By republicanherald.com - mark gilger jr |
| Published: 08/27/2012 |
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PA -- As the Schuylkill County Prison Board continues to look into building a new facility in the prison courtyard to help with an overcrowded inmate population, other counties throughout the state have used various solutions in similar situations. "There's a lot of things that prisons can look at first before building new structures, but that doesn't mean they can always control overcrowding," Brinda Carroll Penyak, deputy director for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said Thursday. Penyak said that while many county prisons in the state are dealing with overcrowding, others have been renting beds for inmates to neighboring counties. "A lot of investing that we are seeing is in community alternatives because they are less expensive for the taxpayer and are generally more effective in preventing people from coming back," Penyak said. Penyak said counties have been using alternative sentencing to lower inmate population, such as work release and house arrest programs. She also said some counties have built work-release or day-reporting centers. "It really comes down to resources and planning, but sometimes it is outside the control of the county jail," Penyak said. In Schuylkill County William E. Baldwin, Schuylkill County's president judge and prison board chairman, has said the county has been using alternative programs to the "maximum degree possible." "We are not quick to send people to prison," Baldwin said Friday. "We try to work with their needs, but public safety needs to be taken into consideration." Baldwin said construction of a new facility within the prison walls in Pottsville still remained the best option as of Friday. "It's the only (idea) under active discussion now because we are all out of ideas to pursue," Baldwin said. During the last Schuylkill County Prison Board meeting Aug. 15, the inmate population was 288, including 47 females, and Warden Eugene Berdanier said 50 inmates were using mattresses on the floor. The suggested capacity for the prison is 240. Proteus On-Demand Facilities LLC, Austell, Ga., had proposed building a temporary structure in the prison's courtyard. Baldwin said estimated annual rent from the company for a 60-bed structure was at least $250,000 and he suggested building a permanent structure as there has been no indication of a decreasing inmate population. Penyak said it isn't often that prisons expand or need to add beds. "It's really hard to get financing and counties often seek other solutions," Penyak said. "Sometimes, there's no choice and it is the most appropriate option. It's not a popular choice but sometimes that can be the only choice. It depends a lot on the local circumstances." Read More. |
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