Reform group looks to start prison conversation
Hosting film series on options to mass incarceration
A new advocacy group in Berks County is taking up the fight for criminal justice reform.
Crystal Kowalski, the founder of Building Justice in Berks, said the mission of the grassroots organization is to encourage community conversation about the alternatives to mass incarceration with a particular focus on what that would mean for the planned construction of a new Berks County Prison.
“This jail is the largest financial project ever undertaken by the county,” she said. “It will impact our wallets, our environment and generations of Berks County families whose lives are shaped by incarceration.”
After being placed on hold for nearly two years because of the coronavirus pandemic, the county commissioners announced in January that plans to build a new prison were back in motion. They have hired CGL Management, a national corrections planning and design firm, for about $650,000 to help guide them through the planning process needed to build a facility.
The commissioners have been mulling the construction of a new prison for some time, acknowledging there are significant structural problems in the existing facility. But they’ve been slow and deliberate in the process as they investigate how changes in the criminal justice system could affect how many inmates the county will have behind bars in the future.
Kowalski, a longtime activist who lives in Wyomissing and has worked on court-related issues for years, said Building Justice in Berks materialized shortly after the announcement that the county was restarting its plans to build a new prison when a number of concerned community members came together to urge the commissioners to do the necessary research to build a prison that aligns with the evolving views on incarceration
One of those concerned community members is former Berks County Judge Arthur Grim.
“The citizens of Berks County have a legitimate interest in the decisions that are made regarding the new prison and our voices should be heard and considered,” Grim said. “There are critical factors to be addressed including community safety, cost to taxpayers, the implementation and enhancement of programs of restorative justice and right-sizing of the facility.”
Grim said that, perhaps, if they can draw upon the collective expertise of government, civic leaders, impacted citizens and justice system experts the county may find it less cost prohibitive and better for the health of the community.
To get the conversation moving forward, Building Justice in Berks will be hosting a film series at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts over the next two months that will explore the financial and societal costs of mass incarceration as well as highlight the criminal justice reform movement.
Each film will be followed by a discussion session
with audience members and provide those in attendance the opportunity to deposit comments or questions into a drop box. A panel discussion will be held after the final film in the series, addressing topics of interest that arose during the series and topics submitted through the drop box.
The following is the film series schedule:
April 6 at 7 p.m. — “Incarcerating US” takes a look at America’s prison problem and explores criminal justice reforms.
April 13 at 7 p.m. — “Seats at the Table” focuses on a college class that brings students together with the residents of a maximum-security juvenile correctional center through the study of Russian literature.
April 27 at 7 p.m. — “The Dhamma Brothers” documents the stories of a group of prisoners as they enter an arduous meditation program.
May 4 at 7 p.m. — “Unguarded” takes viewers inside the walls of a revolutionary Brazilian prison system centered on restorative justice and the full recovery of the person.
The Building Justice in Berks film series is being presented in partnership with Bullfrog Films, the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Barrio Alegria, Berks Stands Up, the Lancaster Bail Fund, the League of Women Voters of Berks County, the NAACP Reading Branch, the Reading Film Fest, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Sunrise PA.