LANCASTER, Pa. — Prison design is on the minds of activists ahead of a Lancaster County Prison Board meeting. On Wednesday, dozens of residents gathered for a town hall to discuss proposals for the new county jail.
“We know there’s a need for a new facility because the old one is simply outdated," said Reverend Jason Perkowski of Power Interfaith. “We want to make sure the prison is right-sized.”
Perkowski was among the panel of activists at the town hall. He argues that county officials need to properly assess the size of the new jail, in order to prevent over-incarceration.
“It was just a few years ago that Lancaster County Prison was incarcerating close to a thousand people at any one time," said Rev. Perkowski. "Those numbers are significantly reduced now and we’re below 800. We think that number can be reduced further.”
Activists on the panel floated several reform proposals throughout the night to keep the inmate population low at the new facility.
“Close the work-release, reform the bail system, increase the treatment and aversion courts, decrease the use of jail for parole violations, and get in the conversation about overall reduction of people we incarcerate," argued Ken Kroehler of the Have a Heart for Persons in the Criminal Justice System.
The panel also fielded questions and concerns from people in attendance. County officials and facility planners were invited to the town hall, however, none were in attendance.
Perkowski hopes county leaders will work with the community to implement right-sizing policies for the new county jail.
“The tax-paying citizens are willing to put money into programs and methods that are good for our society, and are not simply relying on the lowest common denominator of incarcerating folks," said Reverend Perkowski.
Lancaster County’s Prison Board will be releasing its needs assessment for the new jail on Thursday morning.