Today, the Wolf Administration announced the decision to close one State Correctional Institution.
The facility, located in Pittsburgh, will close its doors on June 30, enabling the department to accrue an estimated annual net savings of $81 million.
“Closing an institution is a challenging process, and this decision, made in consultation with Governor Tom Wolf, only came after considering input from stakeholders and an extensive review of all of the institutions and took into consideration several factors including the age, size, location, programming, and economic impact on local communities,” said John Wetzel, the Department of Corrections Secretary. “While we initially felt that closing SCI Pittsburgh would present challenges for closure, upon review of the information, we feel confident that those challenges can be mitigated by relocating the services and specialized units to other facilities.”
Every employee of the closing facility in Pittsburgh will be offered a job within the Department Of Corrections and that inmates will be relocated safely to appropriate facilities with available beds.
Originally, lawmakers discussed closing more than one institution in order to save money and due to the decreasing inmate population. However, it was announced today that only one prison shall be closed.
Our question is, do you believe closing just one State Correctional Institution was the correct decision?
For more information, you can read the release from the Department of Corrections.
