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Moving the Prison in a Positive Direction
Posted 01-26-2001
The Westmoreland County Prison has been in the news on a regular basis
during the last six months of 2000 and will likely stay in the news for a
portion of this year. I’d like to share with you some of my perceptions
concerning our prison and in what direction I’d like to see the county move
to ensure that it operates successfully.
Any time that a prison is
regularly in the news means something happened that isn’t positive. By their
very nature, no news usually is good news, and anything else means there are
problems. Also as an area of public investment, people want prisons to serve
their function, but for the most part don’t want to spend very much on their
operation.
After a Grand Jury
investigation and the release of the Attorney General’s Report, the
Westmoreland County Prison Board took action to dismiss the warden. It was a
difficult decision because the warden certainly wasn’t the only person
responsible for the problems at our prison. But to begin to restore the
public’s trust in our prison, a change at the top level seemed imperative.
Also, the deputy warden for security will retire in April. Other senior
management employees have been disciplined and more disciplinary actions may
still occur.
Sheriff Chris Scherer is now
serving as interim warden until the prison board can chart another course of
action for the management of our facility. I proposed hiring a management
company to be the top administrators of our facility, in a fashion similar
to our management company at Westmoreland Manor. It is not a total
privatization, but a privatization of the management function. Currently,
the health care service and food service management functions are
privatized. In the last six months, we finally have given the food service
company the opportunity to really manage and costs are going down.
At our January prison board
meeting, we had one potential management company make a presentation of
their capabilities. I think the proposed arrangement would give us an
opportunity to not only utilize the ability of their personnel on site, but
the full capabilities of their corporation. We are working on entering into
a short-term contract to get the company on site and allow the sheriff to
assume his normal responsibilities.
This arrangement may cost us
more money than simply hiring a warden and deputy warden. But if we improve
the atmosphere and restore trust, it will be worth the investment. Nothing
associated with the criminal justice system, from law enforcement, to the
courts, to the penal system is a revenue generator. It is the price a
civilized society pays for dealing with those who break laws. Though fines
and fees are sometimes imposed on offenders, they never pay the full cost of
the criminal justice system.
I’m realistic enough to know
that we’ll never have a perfect prison. By the very nature of its function,
there will be problems. We have an opportunity to now implement a new
management arrangement that will direct greater resources toward meeting the
considerable challenges at our prison. The benefits of change may not be
seen immediately; but after a very difficult six months, I think we’ll move
the Westmoreland County Prison in a positive direction. |
