NCJ Number
73043
Date Published
1980
Length
58 pages
Annotation
Results are reported from an assessment of correctional facility needs for Bucks County, Pa., in order to determine the appropriate use of existing facilities and recommend available options for future needs.
Abstract
Appropriate data were obtained from site visits, official records, interviews with criminal justice personnel, and limited random interviews with sentenced and unsentenced offenders. As presently used, the Bucks County Prison is inadequate for its intended purpose, as it fails to provide for the minimum area requirements per prisoner, for life safety requirements, and for sufficient space to conduct normal daily operations. Two principal causes of these inadequacies are the practice of using cells for multiple occupancy and the deteriorating condition of the physical plant. The average days in confinement for persons held has been increasing, to a high of 15 days in 1979. This increase in days held has largely negated the significant reduction in total population that would have occurred as a result of the decline in sentenced admissions. The report concludes that the county will need about 140 beds for detained persons and 140 beds for sentenced offenders by the year 2,000. The two options recommended for providing facilities are to use the Bucks County Prison as a short-term pretrial holding facility for 50 people, after extensive renovation, and construct a new facility on part of the adjacent 5.2 acres to house 70 people in pretrial confinement and 40 sentenced offenders requiring close supervision; or to use the Bucks County Prison, after extensive renovations, as a secure facility for 40 sentenced offenders requiring secure custody and construct a new facility for all pretrial confinement on part of the 5.2 acre adjacent tract. Tabular and graphic data and figures are provided.