County pol wants plan to take prison from GEO
MEDIA >> Delaware County Councilman Brian Zidek called on the Prison Board of Inspectors to devise a way to transfer the operations of the county prison out of private hands.
“I wanted to call on publicly on the prison board to plan for a transition to a public prison so that all of our options are open,” he said.
The county Board of Prison Inspectors, comprised of two members appointed by county council and three members by the county judicial system, has a contract with GEO Group Inc. to operate the 1,883-bed facility through Dec. 31. GEO Group has operated the prison from 1998 to 2009 and then again from last year after it acquired Community Education Centers, which operated the jail from 2009 through 2017.
The prison board contracted with Phoenix Management Services to conduct a $100,000 study to evaluate operational and cost differences between publicly and privately operated prisons. That study is anticipated to be finished by the end of this month.
The board has also released a request for proposals from firms that may be interested in operating the prison. Those proposals are being reviewed by a committee including Prison Board Chairman John Hosier, board Vice Chairman James Shields, board Solicitor Robert DiOrio, attorney Lawrence J. Beaser and two prison staff members.
Part of Zidek’s concern was the timing of the Phoenix study.
“This study is still not done and I question how useful this study may be at this late date,” he said, adding that it would be beneficial to have a transition plan available as an alternative, just in case it is needed.
DiOrio said GEO would cooperate with a transition should one be needed either if the county or another firm were to take over the operations.
“Part of the contract of the provider is to cooperate in the transition plan,” he said. “The provider is aware that that could occur. Everyone at the jail is aware that a transition might be necessary ... Everyone is aware that the contract expires Dec. 31.
Susanne Wallace of Drexel Hill also attended the county council meeting and brought up her concerns about the prison.
In 2015, Wallace’s 35-year-old daughter, Janene, was found dead hanging in her cell at the county prison. Last year, the prison paid a $7 million to settle a suit related to her death.
Susanne Wallace voiced concerns about the operations of the prison as she added that prison officials were supposed to have met with members of her family to discuss operational changes as a result of the suit.
“Why did all these horrible things take place – violations of policies, mistreatment of inmates, inhumane actions, falsified records, no documentation of what they did with my daughter?” she asked. “We gave them this detailed report 11 months ago and yet it doesn’t seem like it’s of interest to them. How could it not be of interest to them?”
County Council Chairman John McBlain responded, saying no one wants suicides but they occur in the prison and out of the prison.
“I don’t accept your premise that no one cares or that no one oversees or that no one looks at what goes on,” he said. “They do.”
McBlain reiterated prison board statements that many of the operational and policy changes called for in the Wallace suit were included in GEO’s own policies, being implemented when they took over the prison operations from CEC last year.
Wallace, however, remained concerned.
“They’re in the manual but the problem is they’re not followed,” she said.
DiOrio said a meeting between prison representatives and the Wallace family had been scheduled but he could not recall what occurred to postpone it.
“The prison board was willing to meet with her then and they are willing to meet with her now,” he said.
Wallace’s opinion was that absent vigorous oversight, prisoners’ safety could be in question.
“And yet the contract is going to be approved ... based on financial reasons,” she said. “We’re going to be looking at more suicides. We’re going to be looking at continued mistreatment of the inmates in there and these are detainees like our daughter was.”
DiOrio said, “Policies are in place to be followed and the board expects those policies to be adhered to.”
Another issue that arose was the nature of the prison board.
“I think one of the differences is we don’t interact with the prison board in the way that we do with the other people that work for the county,” Zidek said. “When some other department needs money, they come before us and we ask them questions and we understand the process that was undertaken and we’re able to ascertain the wisdom or foolishness of their request.”
McBlain explained that the prison board has an independent status similar to the Solid Waste Authority, DELCORA or the Redevelopment Authority.
He also noted that the prison board was going to address these matters in a public forum at the conclusion of the study.
“When they do their evaluation,” McBlain said, “they will come to and speak to members of council regarding where they are with that ... I do look forward to all things that are to come ... to hearing from the prison board about their status and where they stand with the RFP.”