On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will close two prisons. Monday, three Senate Committees gathered to review the decision.
Senator John Eichelberger Jr. (R), 30th District, recently told WTAJ he was surprised. He said he did not realize the inmate population had dropped significantly enough to close two prisons, especially since there is still an overcrowding issue.
“We’re housing people in county jails and so on to help remedy that,” he said. “So that’s supposed to be dwindling and it has been dwindling. We have the Justice Reinvestment Act that we’ve worked on so we’re supposed to be getting the nonviolent people out of the system and make them productive again. …That is working. It’s taking some time but we’re getting fewer people for long term sentences.”
The DOC Communications Director Susan McNaughton said there is proof the Justice Reinvestment Act is working.
“We have seen a historic drop in our population,” she said. “Usually every year we actually grew by 1500 inmates a year, and for a long time we had been talking about the fact that we were going to have to open a prison if we didn’t do something.”
She said they have over 6,000 open beds throughout the state, although population numbers as of December 31st do not reflect that (DOC Monthly Population Report). She said Camp Hill is reopening 1,000 beds, but not all inmates are being sent there.
“This is not something that we want to do. It’s something that we have to do, and it’s not something that we take lightly,” McNaughton said.
As for employees, the DOC said everyone will be relocated. McNaughton said they are able to find a fit for employees because of previous hiring freezes. Plus, more employees in a prison helps cut down on overtime costs. These employees will also help fill holes created by the estimated 60 people that retire from the system each month.
“We know that it affects our employees, it affects the inmates, and it affects the community,” McNaughton said. “So we’ve put a lot of thought and consideration into this.”
DOC Secretary John Wetzel will make his decision on which two prisons to close Thursday.