By James McGinnis
Philly Burbs
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. — Is Bucks County’s correctional center being unfairly “used” to house inmates and suspects who belong in prisons in Philadelphia and other counties?
That was the claim made recently by Bucks County Administrative Judge Wallace Bateman and Corrections Director William Plantier during a meeting of the county’s prison board.
“In my judgment, we’re being used by other counties to house their inmates,” Bateman told the board.
Bucks County’s corrections department estimates that as many as 50 inmates in its prison might belong in other county jails. The county said it spends about $82 per day to house each prisoner at its overcrowded facilities. So, 50 prisoners adds up to an expense of $4,100 daily, or $1.49 million per year. And that equates to 4 percent of the corrections department estimated budget for 2013.
“It’s an incredible cost to our system and to our taxpayers,” Bateman said.
Full story: Bucks prison spends $1.49 million housing other counties’ inmates