(The Center Square) – The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is considering the closure of two facilities, projecting to save the state over $120 million next year.
The facilities, SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp, approximately house a combined 2,500 inmates.
The proposed closures are the result of participation in the state’s Resource Evaluation and Mission Alignment Project. The announcement triggers a three month period during which the department will hear from stakeholders and community members before making a final determination under Act 133.
The department has also announced the impending closure of two state-run community corrections centers, colloquially known as halfway houses in Berks and Greene counties. They are not subject to the same process as those institutions affected by the law.
The proposed changes were made by a steering committee which considered reports from private consulting firms Carter Goble Lee and JFA, who evaluated the spatial and structural state of the facilities as well as future population projections.
Repairs to the facilities are expected to cost a combined total of more than $80 million in the next five years. These repairs include updating fundamental systems at Rockview that are more than fifty years old, including electric, heat, water systems, sewer lines, and even roads. Rockview was built in 1915 and is the second oldest facility in the system.
The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, or PSCOA, has made strong objections to the proposed closures, noting that the state had recently made considerable investments in Quehanna Boot Camp, which was acquired in 1991.
PSCOA, said the department was “conducting a dog-and-pony show because they already knew what facilities they wanted to close”
The steering committee says that in addition to saving on facilities maintenance, the move will save millions spent on corrections officers working overtime to fill vacant positions. They say transferring both prisoners and staff to open vacancies at other state facilities will relieve some of that burden.
“The men and women who work in Pennsylvania’s state prisons work daily with the most dangerous people in this commonwealth,” reads a statement from the PSCOA. “Our members are remarkable public servants who deserve better than to be treated like this. So much better.”
“I know these decisions have a direct impact on our staff and supporting them through this process is a top priority,” said department Secretary Laurel Harry. “Every single affected staff member will be guaranteed an offer of a job at their existing pay and classification.”
PSCOA argues that when prisons are closer to capacity, violence increases.
“Closing these facilities will create potential powder kegs of trouble that many of us thought were a relic of the past,” the group said.
The group also voiced concern for the economic impact prisons have on the surrounding community, saying “in nearly every case, a state prison is the primary economic development engine of its area.”
Advocates of carceral reform say that prisons aren’t adequate solutions to the state’s economic and employment problems.
Harry emphasized her department’s commitment to the process over the next three months.
“My team and I will conduct the process in a manner that is transparent and considerate of everyone impacted, including staff, the incarcerated population, and their loved ones, and the communities of Centre, Clearfield, and surrounding counties.”
Hearings will be announced as they are scheduled in the affected counties.
