State auditor to review prison system
Training and staffing problems at Pennsylvania’s state prisons are prompting the state auditor general to perform a wide-ranging audit of the Department of Corrections system, including SCI-Greene, which was under scrutiny in recent months.
Eugene DePasquale said his agency received multiple complaints from across the state about “safety issues, overtime and not enough staff” that he thinks could be leading to dangerous conditions for both corrections officers and inmates.
“The goal is to see how well the system is run as a whole,” DePasquale said. “We have to go into the audit with an open mind.”
It has been an especially tumultuous time for the State Correctional Institution at Greene.
An inmate serving a life sentence for murder stabbed a corrections officer nearly a dozen times in a general population area of the prison Nov. 19. The officer has since recovered, but not returned to work.
A little more than two months later, another inmate was found hanging in his cell. Shawn Johnson, 35, used bed sheets to hang himself Jan. 4 in what state police determined was a suicide.
Last week, three jail guards were accused of running a “rent-a-center” operation in which inmates in “The Family” were permitted to purchase confiscated televisions and other devices in early 2015. John C. Smith Jr., 46, of Caldwell, Ohio, Michael S. Berry Jr., 34, of Clarksville, and Andrew J. Schneider, 34, of Grindstone, were charged Feb. 26 in connection with the alleged conspiracy.
DePasquale said he was aware of the recent incidents at SCI-Greene, but they alone were not the catalyst for the review.
“Anytime you have a stabbing, that’s obviously concerning,” DePasquale said. “I’m not going to say that type of thing is happening everywhere, but we’re getting concerns all across the state. “We thought it was necessary to take a look at the whole system.”
DePasquale said the budget battle and funding crisis appears to have led to training and staffing issues.
DOC spokeswoman Susan McNaughton said Corrections Secretary John Wetzel spoke Thursday to the state House’s Appropriations Committee and told the members the still unresolved budget situation is forcing them to focus on “mission critical issues, such as care, custody and control” of the inmates. She admitted that some “lesser training” programs may be delayed because of funding gaps.
“We always welcome outsiders taking a look at what we do,” McNaughton said. “We’re always constantly evaluating ourselves, but sometimes they see things we don’t.”