7/21/17
by News Department on 07/21/17Prison update...
The state Department of Corrections has lifted the final requirement of an agreement aimed at relieving overcrowding at Schuylkill County’s jail.
The state in May 2016 ordered the county to stop committing inmates whose sentences fell between six months to five years until it consistently kept its average monthly population at or below 277.
It lifted the restriction last August after the county kept the population down by sending overflow inmates to prisons in Centre, Columbia, Delaware and Berks County at a cost of $60 to $72 per inmate per day.
In a letter to the county from Department of Corrections Executive Deputy Secretary Shirley Moore Smeal, the state lifted the reporting requirement. However, Smeal noted that the county has yet to find a “long-term solution to address internal capacity management and the temporary bedding concern will be reviewed for compliance in future annual inspections.
