The McKean County Prison in Smethport has been graded as the
worst county prison in the state for 2005, according to results
from state Corrections Department inspections and revealed through
a study by The Associated Press.
In response, county leaders – who cite a lack of sufficient
funds to make the needed corrections – have vowed a change in
direction for the overcrowded facility over the next few years.
“I am not surprised,” Commissioner Chairman John Egbert said
when contacted Monday afternoon about the report. “That is what we
are trying to correct. It would take over $4 million to make the
prison what it ought to be, and that is not something the people
who elected us want us to do at this point.
“We have plans for the future, but now we have to find a way to
finance it without taking it out of the taxpayers pockets. It’s not
like we don’t know what’s wrong.”
According to The Associated Press findings, which were obtained
through the Right-to-Know law and are for the past three years’
inspections, the county prison had scores of 80 in 2003; 64 in
2004; and 64 in 2005.
A perfect score is 100. The AP noted the state inspects for 25
categories – including housing, food services, sanitation and
safety, inmate classification, bedding, security, personnel and
medical and health service – so if a facility is in non-compliance
with any part of a category, there is a deduction of four points.
If a jail or prison had a perfect score in the previous year, they
are not subject to inspection to following year.
“If they (state) came in and inspected it today, the score would
be more than a 64,” Egbert said. “It would be improved over what it
was. As Dennis (Luther) has said in the past, and he’s right,
without major expenses in capital, we will not be getting over an
85.”
Luther is the current warden at the facility. However, a search
is ongoing to find his replacement after Luther announced his
resignation from the post in October. There was no immediate word
on when a replacement might be named. Outgoing Sheriff Donald Morey
served as the warden at the facility in 2003 and 2004.
The next closest ranked prisons or jails to McKean County in
2005, according to the AP, were Bedford County Jail in Bedford,
Jefferson County Prison in Brookville, Lebanon County Correctional
Facility in Lebanon and Schuylkill County Prison in Pottsville –
all of which scored a 68.
Locally, AP figures indicate Elk County Prison in Ridgway had
scores of 100 in 2003 and 2004 and were exempt from inspections in
2005; Potter County Prison in Coudersport, 88 for 2003 and 2004 and
72 for 2005; and Warren County Prison in Warren, 92 in 2003, 80 in
2004 and 96 in 2005. Both Forest and Cameron counties do not
operate jails.
The exact deficiencies for the McKean County Prison were not
named in the AP report, and were not immediately available.
However, the prison does have a large overcrowding problem and sees
inmates who are habitually getting in trouble with the law.
In a September interview with The Era, Luther – an author of a
report which cited more than 100 problems with the prison – said
county residents have to take more of a role in deciding the
direction of the prison, noting corrections officials face problems
that are worse than on the federal level and indicated he would
like to institute programs that help inmates learn life skills and
increase the likelihood of them succeeding back in society.
Incoming Sheriff Brad Mason has refuted those claims, saying the
word prison does not refer to the McKean County facility, adding
the inmates at the prison have “all the rights.”
There has been funding set aside in the 2006 county budget for
further improvements at the prison, mainly for security, according
to Egbert. The prison has experienced problems with escapees and
through the work release program.
“(Donald) Morey told me he saw four generations of the same
family go through that jail,” Egbert said. “That is a trend you
want to break if you can. It starts with juvenile probation and
mental health/mental retardation. We have people in there that
don’t belong in jail, but there is no place else to put them.”
Egbert said the state is closing more mental health hospitals,
noting it is cheaper to house people in prison than at a mental
health facility. According to Egbert, per diem costs to house an
inmate with mental health problems at the prison is $55 or $60,
compared with $350 at a mental hospital, and $450 in the
psychiatric ward at Bradford Regional Medical Center.
“That cost goes right to the taxpayers and there is no insurance
for that,” Egbert said. “Some of the problems are related to
illness. Are they criminals? No. They just need help. The people of
the county’s solution is to lock them up and throw away the key,
but they don’t know how much that costs.”
The chairman said the county is hoping to be able to invest some
money from the sale of Sena-Kean Manor and the landfill to help
alleviate some of the problems. The county has already entered into
a contract to allow the court to use electronic bracelets to place
people on house arrest or to monitor those on work release.
“If we wisely invest it and allow it to draw interest, that
would enable us to use that money as collateral for loans and then
we can prioritize what we want to do,” Egbert said. “We need to do
this appropriately and have already been working on it for more
than a year.”
Egbert also said the county is faced with numerous federal and
state mandates, including for DUI and drug abuse.
“There is no simple solution to incarceration,” Egbert said.
“The state will be back to reinspect us again next year and I’m
confident we’ll go up the scale.”
