2005 News

March 3, 2005
BUCKS COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AND COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS CENTERS RECEIVE ANNUAL INSPECTION REPORT

The Bucks County Correctional Facility (BCCF) and Community Corrections Centers (CCC) received an overall compliance rate of 92 percent following a December 2004 inspection by the state Department of Corrections. Compliance increased from 84 percent in 2003. A review is done in the areas of personnel, admissions, orientation, rules and regulations, classification, housing, clothing, bedding, food services, personal hygiene, medical and health services, visiting, correspondence, work programs, access to legal resources, religion, recreation, commissary, inmate discipline, security, extraordinary occurrence reports, treatment services, death investigations, notification, and sanitation and safety. Two items were brought to the attention of Director Harris Gubernick, housing maintenance and health screenings upon admission. Both items have already been corrected.

According to the state, in terms of housing, some walls evidenced surface deterioration. Mr. Gubernick states they are aware of the issue and corrective action plan has already been implemented. "We were aware of the issue, and are addressing it through an ongoing maintenance project that had begun prior to the inspection," Gubernick notes.

The report also states that the county is performing overlapping health care screenings when inmates are admitted, which the state Department of Corrections acknowledges encourages greater identification of medical issues. At issue is the level of health care training the screeners have. Training for all those who conduct initial screening was completed as of the end of February.

The increase in the corrections compliance rating follows news of national accreditation of CCC from the American Correctional Association (ACA). "This organization continues to show its dedication to improving the level of service offered to our offenders. Our core values - ethics, public service, professionalism and state of the art services - drive us in everything we do here," Gubernick added.

According to Prison Oversight Board Chairman Jeffrey Finley, the county Department of Corrections Prison Board submitted its required response in writing, delineating these courses of action.