In Pennsylvania, one person in 28 is either in prison or under the supervision of a parole or probation board. Approximately, 85,000 people are incarcerated in Pennsylvania’s state and county correctional facilities. Pennsylvania is in the process of building three more prisons to alleviate severe overcrowding. In fact, if we continue on the current rate of population increase, by the end of 2012 Pennsylvania will have to construct one new prison every year. It is clear that our prison population is growing at unsustainable rates.
For comparison, according to College Board, the tuition cost for a public four-year college is about $8,200 per year; for a private college about $28,000, and for a state prison inmate about $33,000 annually. Equally significant is the fact that 90 percent of those in prison will be released back to the community at some point.
In light of this unprecedented prison growth, the PPS has an important role to play in Pennsylvania corrections. The PPS has roots that go back as far as 1787 and has included men like Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush. Their concerns in 1787 remain the concerns of the PPS in 2012: the welfare of inmates and safe and humane incarceration.
The Pennsylvania Prison Society works in conjunction with the state Department of Corrections in three ways: oversight and advocacy, prison visiting, and assistance to men and women when they are released from prison.
The PPS is unlike any other prison organization in the world. State legislation recognizes the prison society and gives it access to state prisons. The PPS performs its oversight role by entering prisons and visiting with inmates as a way to ensure that inmates are treated humanely.
The society has also taken an active role in supporting various reform issues such as the possibility of parole for those lifers who committed their crimes while still juveniles.The United States is virtually the only country in the world that allows for juvenile offenders to be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is a leader in the number of juvenile lifers in our state prisons. The PPS continues to push for legislation that will change this policy.
There are more than 300 members in the Pennsylvania Prison Society who are official visitors. These official visitors make more than 3,000 visits each year. The Pennsylvania Prison Society has 43 local chapters. Centre, Huntingdon and Blair counties all have active chapters. As our prison population grows, more volunteers are needed. If you would like to become a volunteer with the society, please contact the director of volunteers, John Hargreaves, at 717-379-8989 or www.prisonsociety.org.
Barbara R. Price is the co-convener at The Pennsylvania Prison Society, Centre County Branch. Her email is brpmchale@gmail.com.
