Would violence at PA prisons rise if Rockview closes? Centre County leaders express concerns
Centre County government leaders became the latest Tuesday to express concern that violence could increase inside Pennsylvania’s prison system if the proposal to close Rockview state prison is finalized.
The county’s commissioners said relocating about 2,500 inmates from Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp — a facility in Clearfield County also being proposed for closure — could “pose threats to the physical safety of inmates, especially vulnerable populations.”
In their letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, the county’s three commissioners conceded the state Department of Corrections’ proposal is logistically feasible with its shrinking prison population. But they also said they identified “substantial deleterious effects from doing so.”
“For many inmates, relocation would remove them from specialty programs whose success has not been replicated at different facilities,” the commissioners wrote in the letter, highlighting programs such as Rockview’s Forestry Unit. “... These programs have repeatedly demonstrated that they promote rehabilitation and significantly reduce recidivism.”
The commissioners — Democrats Mark Higgins and Amber Concepcion, as well as Republican Steve Dershem — also highlighted a letter they received from an unidentified man incarcerated at Rockview.
He warned the commissioners of the “unintended and reckless impact of potential violence” some may experience if they are relocated to another prison.
“To use a common and demeaning predatory prison term, we would be ‘Fresh Meat’ to predators at another facility,” the man wrote in his letter.
The commissioners made their stance known one day after top DOC officials defended their proposal at a state budget hearing in Harrisburg.
State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa, a Republican who serves a portion of Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania, said during her questioning that violence rates in state prisons have increased in each of the past three reporting periods.
“These numbers are going in the wrong direction and have been now for several years,” she said.
Department of Corrections Secretary Laurel R. Harry did not dispute the data, describing the increase as “very concerning.” But she also said much of the violence was contained to seven of the system’s nearly two dozen state prisons; five facilities saw a reduction in violence. She did identify any of the prisons.
Harry also said the agency formed a task force in the fall to study the issue.
“We want to look at it in its totality. Not just inmate on inmate violence, not just inmate on staff violence. But also staff on staff workplace violence, as well as staff on inmate improper uses of force,” Harry testified. “We want to cover all those areas to see — are there places where there’s more of a culture of that type of behavior.”
Harry also testified data from five previous prison closures actually showed a reduction in violence. On average, she testified there were three fewer inmate on staff assaults and one fewer inmate on inmate assault.
Should Rockview and Quehanna be closed, Harry testified the prison population statewide would be less than 90% of capacity for men and about 80% capacity for women.
“At this point, we feel that our population will still be manageable,” Harry testified.
Concerns of community leaders, such as those aired Tuesday by Centre County’s commissioners, are being sought by the DOC as part of monthslong review of the proposal.
State law requires the agency to host at least one public hearing in Centre County. Higgins said one such hearing has been scheduled in Clearfield County, but did not mention any scheduled hearing in Centre County.
Separate from that hearing, a state lawmaker who represents a portion of Centre County has scheduled a handful of forums through early April.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 5:42 AM.