Mark Walters
The Evening Sun
HANOVER, Pa. — Adams County Prison recently scored 100 percent on its compliance test by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
While a perfect score is not rare, it is something prison warden Brian Clark said gives the county assurance that the right things are being done.
“We have a really good staff here,” Clark said. “They keep this place running smoothly.”
The compliance check, which is done at all of the state’s 63 prisons, is a daylong examination of 48 essential and 94 non-essential areas of compliance, Clark said.
Every bit of the prison’s 125,000-square-foot Straban Township facility was examined during the September evaluation, Clark said. The 45 Major Bell Lane building opened in 2003 and can house a maximum of 449 inmates, Clark said.
County prisons are evaluated on their security areas and plans, accountability keys, conditions of confinement and cleanliness among other procedural issues.
“Our main goal is to keep the community safe,” Clark said.
He noted that prison staff also work to rehabilitate those who make repeated visits to the prison with various educational and therapeutic programs for those in need of counseling. The county prison’s recidivism rate is more than 50 percent, Clark said.
Kenneth Reisinger, corrections officer at the prison, said his job can be stressful. He said it is not nearly as glamorous as it is often portrayed on television programs.
Since prisoners are confined, everything becomes a big deal to them, Reisinger said. Something as simple as an inmate feeling like he was not fed adequately can escalate into a stressful ordeal.
“They can’t get out of here. They have all day to sit here and figure out how to mess with you,” Reisinger said of working directly with inmates. “The biggest part is not letting them get to you.”
The stress is compounded by working in a place where clientele are commonly seen at their worst, Reisinger said. Put simply, corrections officers are constantly surrounded by negativity.
But receiving a perfect grade helps prison staff come to work with a positive attitude.
“It makes you feel good,” Reisinger said.
Inmates commonly talk about other facilities they have been confined in, Reisinger said, noting their dissatisfaction with other prisons.
While there are aspects of the county prison inmates do not like, Reisinger said cleanliness is not a complaint expressed by Adams County prisoners.
And while prisons are required to provide inmates an hour of recreation each day, Clark said Adams County prisoners are allotted two hours. Getting the inmates outside helps reduce stress and keeps them healthier, Clark said.
Of this year’s 39 county jail inspections, 36 scored a 100 percent, said Susan Bensinger, deputy press secretary for the state’s Department of Corrections.
The county inspectors are governed by Title 37, adopted by the state in 1971. The law sets forth minimum operating standards for county prisons, including policies and procedures in place for various scenarios such as riots and attempted escapes.
If policy or protocol is lacking in an area, a deficiency or citation is issued until the prison makes the necessary changes, according to the department of corrections’ website. A certificate of compliance is only issued to counties that receive a score of 100 percent, the website states.
This is the prison’s second perfect score since Clark became warden in 2008. As a result of its 100-percent compliance, the county’s prison will not be evaluated by the state department until 2015, Clark said.
“That’s a big perk,” Clark said. “It gives you time to re-evaluate policies and keep those standards fresh. It’s a benefit for those who work hard to maintain that compliance.”
Adams County Commissioner Jim Martin said he was not surprised to discover the county prison’s 100 percent compliance.
“It’s an honor to have a report like that come into your hands,” Martin said. “It gives you great confidence in the staff we have at the prison, that they are on top of their game.”
With $10.09 million tentatively budgeted for the county’s prison in 2014, Martin said it is important to stay abreast of what is happening at the facility.
“We want to ensure prisoners are being treated humanely,” Martin said. “Prisons are a whole other ballgame. There is facilities management, prisoner conduct and staff relations as well. It’s a lot of things to juggle.
“A lot of kudos need to go to the warden. He needs to be given high marks for the job he and his staff did.”