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| Report finds faults with way NJ Prison treats female inmates |
| By Allentown Morning Call |
| Published: 01/07/2002 |
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'Kathy,' an inmate at the Bucks County Prison, would spend her nights screaming at the top of her lungs and kicking her cell door. Kathy was clearly mentally ill, but a task force established to investigate treatment of women at the Bucks County Prison concluded that there was no separate facility there to house women with mental illness. A 77-page report issued by the Bucks County Task Force on Incarcerated Women and the Mentally Ill was recently released. The task force was impaneled by U.S. Magistrate Diane Devlin Welsh in May 2000 after a class-action suit was filed against the county prison. The suit claimed women do not receive equal services inside the jail. Anita Alberts and Martha Sperling, the two Doylestown attorneys who filed the suit on behalf of female inmates, charged that there were no separate facilities for women with mental illnesses. The prison does maintain an eight-bed separate unit for mentally ill male inmates. Sperling said the task force's report shows that the prison must establish a separate mental health facility for women. Attorney James Downey, who is representing the county commissioners, said he does not expect to consult with them on the findings until after Jan. 1. Downey said some of the recommendations in the report do not appear to have merit. For example, he said, one recommendation is more corrections officers. Downey said the jail is constantly hiring corrections officers but is unable to fill all its vacancies. Alberts said the report speaks for itself, and the county would do well to implement its recommendations. Women make up about 10 percent of the population at Bucks County Prison, which houses an average of about 530 inmates. The task force was in place before four male corrections employees were arrested for sexually assaulting female inmates. The report said some positive changes in the treatment of women were made in reaction to the criminal prosecution. |
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