The following information was obtained from the PA DOC's Monthly Institutional Profile and is current as of December 31, 2006. The complete document in PDF form can be viewed here .
44,365
Maximum Capacity:
38,547 (over capacity by 14.9%)
For comparison, the December 2005 report listed the total number of prisoners as 42,446 and a maximum capacity of 38,347, being over capacity by 10.5%. Despite an increase in maximum capacity in 2006, over capacity rose by 4.4%. Clearly the PA DOC is failing to rehabilitate or deter criminals.
Percentage of White inmates:
38%
Total Percentage of Black, Hispanic, and other inmates:
62%
It should be noted that while most correctional facilities are located in rural areas, most of its prisoners are from urban areas, populated primarily by African-American and Hispanic men and women. If roughly 62% of the prison population is from an urban area, such as Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, why are inmates housed in correctional facilities located hours from their family? The PA DOC Monitor believes this is to discourage visitation, and also rejuvenate economically deprived rural areas.
Regarding age, the most recent PA DOC statistics we could find were located in the 2004 Annual Statistical Report . After tallying the totals on page 30, the percentage of inmates under the age of 50 is 88.5%! Correctional institutions around the country will inevitably face a serious crisis once these men and women become senior citizens and require health care. We suspect that when that time comes the few rehabilitative and educational programs remaining will be completely eliminated.
The statistics we presented have been known for years, yet why is there no response? Why has a failing system remained virtually unchanged in its methodology for a century? Perhaps it is because a ruling power benefits by the system's very existence, no matter how repugnant. The PA DOC Monitor does not believe prisons should be eliminated, but a balance must be established between punishment and justice.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook- Login or register to post comments
- Printer friendly version
Tue, 09/08/2009 - 02:48
The Census Bureau counts Pennsylvania prisoners as if they were residents of the communities where they are incarcerated, even though they can’t vote and remain legal residents of the places they lived before they were incarcerated. Crediting thousands of mostly urban and minority men to other communities has staggering implications for modern American democracy, which uses the Census to apportion political power on the basis of equally-sized legislative districts. The Census Bureau has always counted prisoners as residents of the prison location, but it is only recently that the population in prison is large enough to effect legislative districting. testking 156-215 As recently as 1980, the Pennsylvania prison system had just over 8,000 prisoners, compared to 4.5 times Moreover, using population as the sole measure of political apportionment in state and local government is also quite new. Counting prisoners as residents of the facility might have made sense in the country’s first century, when the mandate of the Census was limited to determining the relative populations of states. But today, state legislatures use the Census to apportion political power within each state. testking 646-563 However, the Census Bureau's prison count violates the law of Pennsylvania and that of most states, which says that prison is not a residence. A legal residence is the place that people choose to be and do not intend to leave. Today, our conception of democracy requires far more detailed and accurate data to reflect where the population — including people in prison — actually lives. In almost every respect, except for how it counts people in prison, the Census Bureau’s methodology has evolved to keep pace with the changing needs for its data. But now that such a large percentage of the population is incarcerated, testking 1z0-051 where the Census Bureau counts people in prison is a question of critical importance.
Fri, 03/05/2010 - 00:29
The DRCC (Death Row Classification Committee) exists nowhere but on paper. Major Timothy Lester is the one making leveling decisions and other employees are merely signing off on the forms so that it appears on paper that a committee made the decision - but in reality it's only Lester. The prisoner has no recourse to appeal his decision because the Step 2 authorities always say that they are "deferring to" the 70-648 "judgement of unit officials" or, to DRCC. The entire grievance procedure is useless anyway, but that's another matter.