What information should be available about inmates in Centre County? Activists want more
Building on momentum from databases used for information during the COVID-19 pandemic, local organizers are calling for increased government transparency — specifically at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
“Data prompts informed action,” Maddie King, a Ferguson Township resident, told the county prison board of inspectors Thursday.
King — joined by Nick Pressley, Krista Henry, Jenna Henry and Mark Frailey — attended the inspectors’ meeting to ask that Centre County consider creating a public database of inmates being held at CCCF as well as releasing details about what inmates’ lives are like while they’re being held there.
The group includes activists, some who were formerly incarcerated, committed to helping people reenter society upon their release.
With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in more virtual meetings and databases, the group saw an opportunity to expand on the dashboard used to monitor coronavirus cases in the correctional facility. Organizers initially presented the idea during a commissioners’ meeting last month — saying it’s the public’s right to have information about the people “behind bars in our county.”
They also believe that having access to the information will help address diversion and intervention, rehabilitation and reconciliation, and reintegration and recovery.
CCCF coronavirus data for inmates and staff is reported by the county and updated daily. As of Thursday, there have been 27 reported cases among inmates, and five positive cases among staff members. All inmates, according to the dashboard, have recovered.
Inmate information is public record, and Centre County uses VINELink, an online portal, to update the names of those incarcerated at CCCF, but the database does not include all of the information the group requested.
Last month, Pressley, a former inmate and activist, said the county’s system “does not provide the transparency that is necessary for reform.”
The group requested the creation of a facility database to include population metrics. Individual inmate information would include their name, any aliases, booking and release information, description of charge, date of birth, sex and gender.
King also described “opt-in” data for the database, including information about mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency, military status, marital status, programs participated in and any potential offender designations.
Last month, Commissioner Michael Pipe engaged with King on social media, tweeting, “Putting all of this information on our website can permanently hinder their ability to successfully reenter our community and put their mistakes behind them.”
But Pressley explained Thursday that there are “barriers” people have to overcome during reentry, and “privacy doesn’t exist,” especially when applying for jobs, looking for apartments and social interactions.
“This information is already available to folks,” Pressley said. “What we would like to use it for is ... to help people as they start their time incarcerated, as they go through their time incarcerated and as they get ready to come home from a community standpoint.”
Having a criminal record has hindered Jenna Henry, but establishing a database could help organizations, like Go Reentry, assist former inmates, she said. Pressley added that they “care less about names” and want to be able to see “the entire picture” in order to help inmates throughout incarceration and upon reentry.
Pipe has expressed concerns about potential legal action against the county, referencing a 2012 lawsuit filed in Bucks County in regard to the Criminal History Records Information Act. A database could put Centre County at risk for “significant and operational harm,” Pipe said on social media last month.
But on Thursday, Pipe said any act made by residents to improve government is appreciated. The board of inspectors, county staff and and correctional facility employees plan to review the proposal and decide how best to move forward.
The next board of inspectors meeting will be held virtually at 8 a.m. on Jan. 14.
