State Inmates On Offer “For A Little Bit Of Profit”
With about 50 empty beds at the Bedford County PA Prison, Warden Dan Keen is optimistic about getting paid to fill those spaces with inmates from Pennsylvania state correctional institutions.
On May 1, Keen will join several other jail wardens from across the state at a Department of Corrections meeting in Elizabethtown to discuss the possibility of sending state prisoners who are near their parole dates to county prisons that likely have more space. “Every state facility in Pennsylvania is overflowing,” said Keen, who added that the new facilities being built won’t be completed for several years. In the meantime, local jails are being asked to take inmates close to being paroled for a “little bit of profit.”
Keen said he would like to receive $55 a day per inmate for reimbursement, or more than $2,500 a day if the 50 empty beds at the 185-bed jail are filled …
Cambria County Prison Warden John Prebish also will attend the May 1 meeting and said the ability to help out with costs to the county, as well as lower the strain on state institutions, is appealing. “It’s not cheap to run a jail,” Prebish said. “It’s not a profitable environment for a county. Any way we can offset our costs, we’ll do it.” The 500-bed facility has about 100 empty beds, although that number jumps up and down significantly depending on things like holding immigration cases in the county …
Blair County Prison Warden Michael Johnston also will attend the meeting and said while he doesn’t know much about the plan’s specifics, it’s an idea he would be open to considering. “Right now, I have some space that I could do that with,” Johnston said. “It would be something I would be very interested in.” There currently are 48 empty beds in the 342-bed facility. There also are about 10 to 12 state inmates awaiting transfer from the Blair County Prison, down from the 25 that were waiting transfer six weeks ago, Johnston said. He said he would like to see reimbursement for the time in between state-sentencing and transport from the county prisons. Johnston said he currently charges $50 a day for out-of-county inmates, although he may raise that amount to $55, identical to Centre County’s cost, at the beginning of 2010.
County-State Issues, Economic Issues, Overcrowding, PA Bedford County, PA Blair County, PA Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Commissioners, all members of the prison board, made reference to Johnston’s long service and the fact that he worked his way up the ranks — from corrections officer to captain to deputy warden. Commissioner Diane Meling told Johnston she was ‘‘impressed with your professionalism,’’ and Commissioner Terry Tomassetti said he toured the jail with Johnston and could tell the staff respected him. Tomassetti said Johnston was part of the leadership team that brought about a perfect rating during a state Department of Corrections inspection last year … Johnston said his chief deputy will be Marc Masucci, who also oversees the jail’s treatment programs. Masucci has 24 years with the county.