“Lock up the bad guys and throw away the key”– that’s the pledge lots of folks want to hear from their elected leaders. But that mindset has landed Philadelphia in a costly jam these days.  This video report from myFoxPhilly.com.

The problem: The system is bulging at the seams, and if overcrowding gets worse, every taxpayer will feel the pain. Philadelphia’s prison system was built to house 6400 inmates in a clean, safe, humane environment.  These days, the inmate census averages nearly 9600. The city spends extra money each year, shipping overflow inmates to other facilities on top of money spent defending itself in a federal lawsuit over crowded conditions.

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The Passaic County NJ Jail is ending an arrangement with the Philadelphia Prison System to house inmates at its Paterson facility, according to the Evening Sun.

The Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, which oversees the jail, will not renew the deal when it expires May 31.   Sheriff’s department spokesman Bill Maer says the program raised about $3 million for Passaic County, with a per diem rate of $88 per prisoner. It was also meant to help alleviate overcrowding in Philly jails, which officials say has improved.  There were 200 Philadelphia inmates in Paterson at the height of the program. The last inmate was transferred out of New Jersey and back to a Philadelphia jail two weeks ago.

Maer says the agreement “has outlived its usefulness.”

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Seeking ways to raise revenue, Philadelphia Prisons Commissioner Louis Giorla floated a proposal yesterday to charge criminals money to get in to city jails.

One previous study found Philadelphia inmates had an average of $35 on hand during the intake process, Giorla said. Acknowledging that many offenders wouldn’t be able to pay, he estimated the so-called admission fee would generate $300,000 a year …

[T]he admission-fee proposal [was] discussed during the second of three PhillyStat meetings that Mayor Nutter is holding to focus on the spending plans of specific city departments as his administration grapples with closing a $1 billion budget gap in the next five years.

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Shipping prisoners from Philadelphia jails to state corrections facilities is one way the city’s crowded prison system will conform to Mayor Michael Nutter’s mandatory budget cuts this year, the city prisons chief said yesterday.

Nutter has asked each city department to provide details on how to cut spending by 10, 20 and 30 percent … The prison system, which is busting at the seams with inmates in recent years, has a $230 million budget this year.  “We have a significant impact on the city’s budget,” Prisons Commissioner Louis Giorla said following the first of five meetings held by city officials on the state of city spending. “Hopefully we will reduce the number of inmates. We can move inmates to state facilities.” As of midnight Sunday, there were 9,877 inmates in the Philadelphia Prisons Systems, according to Giorla. He said the department does not yet know how many inmates must transfer to the state’s facilities to alleviate the prison system’s budget problems. Other measures the department is considering taking is “working with the courts to reduce our population and considering implementing electronic resources” to cut costs, said Giorla.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections said they would accommodate Philadelphia by taking some of the city’s prisoners. She said the state has traditionally bailed out county prison systems that cannot afford their prisoners.“We have traditionally helped out counties over the years,” Corrections spokeswoman Susan McNaughton said. “We will help out Philadelphia County too.”

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Two weeks after Gov. Rendell halted paroling state inmates, the population of Pennsylvania’s 27 prisons continues to swell.

Officially, the Sept. 30 monthly census – taken one day after Rendell froze paroles in response to the killing of Philadelphia Police Officer Patrick McDonald by a paroled felon – showed that the inmate population of 46,883 was eight percent above what prison officials say is needed to maintain “quality of life and safety for both staff and inmates.”  Prison experts now say overcrowding is actually closer to 17 percent above capacity and they worry about how the system will hold up without that monthly release of 1,100 parolees.  “If this lasts two months, you’re talking about enough people to fill a completely new large prison,” said William DiMascio, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, a 221-year-old inmate advocacy group.

Rendell named John S. Goldkamp, head of Temple University’s criminal justice department, to do a top-to-bottom review of how the Board of Probation and Parole decides who gets paroled. Goldkamp’s review will presumably be expedited, though Rendell set no deadline.  “We’re awaiting [Goldkamp's] recommendation,” Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said. “Clearly, the danger posed by an error for a citizen outweighs the impact on the system.” Still, Ardo said, Rendell will keep open the option of restoring parole for inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes if prison conditions warrant…

Meanwhile, the parole freeze is being felt throughout Pennsylvania … The action affects more than inmates; correctional officers have long complained about being outnumbered by often-volatile prison populations, a situation that is likely to become more uneasy as the moratorium increases inmate populations – and potentially explosive stress.  Roy Pinto, vice president of the 10,500-member Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, said that there were 500 vacant officer jobs and that 200 more officers were on active duty with the National Guard or reserves.  Pinto said he was also worried that the parole moratorium comes at the same time the U.S. economy is flagging, traditionally a time when more people wind up in prison.  “We’re trying to cut a few people loose early, but they’re pouring in the other end,” said Pinto, an officer for 17 years at Rockview in Central Pennsylvania …

“It’s even worse for parole agents,” Pinto added. “Their workload has increased so much they can’t really do their job.”   Sherry Tate, a spokeswoman for the Board of Probation and Parole, said agency officials would not comment until after the parole review.

County prisons will also feel the impact of the freeze.  Bob Eskind, spokesman for the Philadelphia prison system, said the city system typically released 630 people a week who made bail, completed a county sentence, or were released on probation or parole. Some are state inmates who, for various reasons, are housed in county facilities.  An additional 89 local inmates a week are sent to serve state prison sentences.  In a seriously overcrowded system – Philadelphia’s prisons now hold about 145 percent of their rated 6,433-bed capacity – Eskind said officials depend on “one in and one out.”

More details on this story at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has halted the early release of state prison inmates, days after a recently paroled felon shot and killed a Philadelphia police officer.

The governor also named a Temple University professor to head a review of how the Corrections Department and parole board handled the suspects in the latest Philadelphia police slaying and another four months earlier.  Rendell said last week the administration was reviewing the board’s decision to release Daniel Giddings, who killed Philadelphia Officer Patrick McDonald last week before being killed by police. The review being led by John S. Goldkamp, a nationally recognized expert on incarceration, now includes the fatal shooting of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski in May …

A Corrections Department spokeswoman said officials will follow the governor’s direction to stop paroling prisoners until the review is complete. A time frame is not known.  “If we’re not releasing people on parole, we have to watch out population and deal with it if it continues to grow,” said spokeswoman Susan McNaughton.

A spokesman for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said the mayor is on-board with the actions taken Monday.  “The mayor is in complete agreement with Commissioner Ramsey, the FOP president and governor in this matter,” Nutter spokesman Doug Oliver said. “Clearly, there is a problem with the system here.”

More details available at the AP.

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• Canadian Federal parolees to get GPS monitors for first time.
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The Philadelphia Prison System is growing food crops for local community associations.

Nicholas Rowan, a 22-year-old … is doing time for violating probation … Inside the greenhouse on Philadelphia Prison System grounds… he’s coaxing tiny tomato plants out of little peat pots into bigger ones called six packs, and were it not for his orange jumpsuit and the corrections officer in the corner, he’d look for all the world like any other gardener in spring.In May, as part of an innovative program called City Harvest, those tomato transplants and thousands of other fruit, vegetable and herb seedlings were to be delivered to 30 community gardens around Philadelphia. There, they were being planted and nurtured, the produce eventually harvested and donated to 30 food cupboards in local churches, community and senior centers, and low-income apartment complexes. Last year, gardeners donated 12,000 pounds — six tons. This year, mindful of rising food prices and a growing need, they’re aiming for 15,000 pounds.

Offenders and officers have praised the program.

Rowan is one of about 12 male and 10 female prisoners who work — in separate groups — inside the greenhouse or outside in the prison’s half-acre organic garden. They’re low-security inmates, most serving from 30 to 90 days for offenses such as violation of probation or parole, drug use, or failure to pay child support or parking tickets.  Lisa Mosca, a City Harvest instructor, teaches them not just how to grow plants organically, but how to plan next season’s crops, manage pests through wise planting, and enrich the soil in the off-season. She also tosses in some basic math, resume-writing and cooking.

These may not sound like earth-moving life lessons, but corrections officer Tom O’Neal, who started the prison’s earlier gardening program and now manages the greenhouse, insists they are. “Life has not been goal-oriented for these folks,” O’Neal says. “They learn about plant propagation, soil structure, a little botany, yes, but it’s also about work ethic and broadening horizons.”

 Read more about this innovative program in The Providence Journal.

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Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s administration is studying a high-tech plan to let hundreds of non-violent prisoners out of jail using global positioning technology.

With city prisons overflowing with more than 9,000 inmates and the Mayor talking and acting tough on crime, the administration is now looking for ways to clear some jail space. To legitimately and securely relieve prison overcrowding is an idea more than worth pursuing,” said Mayor Michael Nutter.

Top city officials may have found a high-tech solution in GPS monitoring. They’re looking over a pilot plan to release 200 non-violent inmates this fall with a GPS tracking device, strapped to their ankles. One model, Secure-Alert, has a speaker so authorities could verbally warn an inmate who steps out of their restricted location. That and many other systems we should be looking at,” said Nutter. It costs the city about $91 a day to house inmates in city prisons. The GPS tracking device will cost between $9-$20 a day per prisoner. Nutter believes “it’s a significant cost savings.”

Not everyone agrees with the proposal.

“There are plenty of vacant lots around here, build another prison…” That’s what Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey advocated after the murder of Police Sgt. Steven Liczbinski by three suspects out on parole. He thinks the GPS monitoring could work but only for certain inmates. Not everyone who gets out has been rehabilitated, so to speak, so it’s important that they know that we do keep tabs. If they commit other crimes, then we’ll be in a position to take them right back to where they came from,” said Ramsey.

More debate can be found at Fox Philadelphia.

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