Frequently Asked Questions
People are naturally curious about the operation of the Prison and have many questions while they tour the facility.  I have taken a few of the most common questions and a few that I think the taxpayers should be aware of:

Cost of housing an inmate.
Average length of stay.
Types of Offenses.
Housing for other Agencies.
Privileges vs. Rights.
How do you keep the inmates in line?
P.R.A.B. - Pre-release Advisory Board.
Money.
Contraband.
Telephone.

Cost of housing an inmate.
Operating a Correctional facility is not cheap. We have a responsibility to care for the inmate's needs while he is incarcerated in the Prison.   It costs the taxpayers of Venango County approximately $32.00 per day or approximately $11,000 per year to house an inmate in the Prison. 

To help off set this cost, several programs have been instituted to make the inmate partially responsible for the cost of housing him. Any inmate on work release has to to pay $10.00 per day for room and board while he is incarcerated in the Prison. 

As you can see the amount the inmate is charged does not even come close to meeting the actual cost. The idea is to show the inmate that they should be at least partially responsible for the cost of incarcerating them in the Prison. 

Medical expenses are a large amount of the cost in housing an inmate and we charge the inmate $3.00 to see the nurse and $5.00 if they request to see the doctor. We will not deny any medical care to an inmate who is indigent and can't pay this fee. The reasoning behind this fee is to keep inmates who don't need to see the medical staff from just going and "visiting".
Inmate Financial Responsibility Brochure,
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Average length of stay.
Venango County Prison can house an inmate sentenced to the Prison for a period of up to five years. Most inmates sentenced to the Prison have a maximum sentence of up to two years. 

A sentence of two years or longer is typically a sentence served in a state correctional facility. But the sentencing judge has the discretion to sentence an inmate to the County Prison for a period of up to five years. 

The average length of time an inmate spends in the Prison is approximately 43 days. This includes inmates who are brought to the Prison and released on bond within a few days, 48 hour D.U.I. sentences and inmates serving a maximum sentence of 5 years in the Prison. A median time an inmate stays in the Prison is approximately 5 to 6 months.
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Types of Offenses.
As a County Prison, we handle inmates that are brought in as pre-trial and unable to make bond, inmates who are sentenced by a District Magistrate for either a summary offense or a Misdemeanor of the 3rd degree.   Inmates who are serving County sentences for crimes they have been convicted or pled guilty to.  Inmates who are awaiting transport to a state correctional facility to serve their sentence. Inmates who have violated conditions of their probation or parole or inmates who have violated a civil proceeding such as domestic relations orders; i.e. child support, or violated a Protection from Abuse order. 

Changes in State law provide for the Prison to house juveniles who have committed certain criminal offenses and the District Attorney has decided to try the juvenile as an adult. 
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Housing for other Agencies.
In the past the Prison sometimes had available beds and we would house inmates for other Counties that do not have adequate space available to house all the inmates they are required to house. 

If contacted by another County, we would take as many inmates as we could.  We would not accept so many inmates from other Counties that we do not have room to house our own. 

The requesting County would be charged $45.00 per day per inmate to house these inmates. This enables the Prison to help offset the cost of housing our own inmates. The requesting County is responsible for any medical expenses that are incurred by one of their inmates.
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Privileges vs. rights.
There is a difference between the rights that are accorded an inmate and privileges that are granted an inmate. An inmate has certain rights they enjoy from the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These rights the inmate enjoys can not be taken away from the inmate. A few of the rights they have are access to legal material, freedom to practice their religion, and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. 

Privileges that an inmate enjoy can be taken away for violations of the Prison rules and regulations. An inmate has several privileges such as television, telephone, visitation, and work release. 

An infraction of the visitation rules could result in losing visitation privileges for a period of time. 

As you can see, one way you maintain order in a correctional facility is the the administration of privileges. It all boils down to if you behave while in the Prison you will have several privileges. If you misbehave, you will have some or all of your privileges taken away for a period of time.
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How do you keep the inmates in line?
A Prison has to have rules and regulations to maintain order and safety. If an inmate violates any of the rules or regulations of the Prison, a misconduct is written on the inmate. These misconducts are handled in Prison. But if the inmate has committed a crime inside the Prison, he could be charged criminally too. 

Sanctions for violating the rules and regulations range from verbal warnings, restriction of privileges, being locked down in his cell for period of time. Also, if an inmate causes problems while awaiting sentence. It could mean additional time or a state sentence instead of a county sentence. If the inmate misbehaves after being sentenced, he could have to spend additional time before he is paroled. 

If you treat the inmates fairly and equally.  You will, for the most part, have an inmate that will behave himself and not be looking to cause problems.
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P.R.A.B. - Pre-Release Advisory Board.
P.R.A.B was set up by the Honorable Judge H. William White in 1996 to assist him in making decisions on when and how  he should parole an inmate sentenced to the Prison. 

Before P.R.A.B, inmates would routinely be paroled irregardless of their behavior unless someone from the Prison went to the Judge and advised him of the inmate's conduct in the Prison.  

P.R.A.B. consists of a member from the Pa. Board of Probation and Parole, a member from Court Supervision Services, the Prison Warden,  a delegate from Drug and Alcohol, and a delegate from Mental Health. The board meets every two weeks  to consider any inmate who has a sentence of over 60 days and is approaching their minimum release date. 

Several factors are considered by the board when discussing the inmate. Some of these factors include their behavior while incarcerated and any treatment programs recommended by mental health or drug and alcohol personnel. 

Once we have discussed the inmate's case, a vote is taken and a recommendation is made to the sentencing judge. 

The sentencing judge then makes a decision based upon the recommendation of P.R.A.B. 

A strong effort is made to inform the inmates that their conduct in the Prison does have a impact on the length of time they spend in the Prison.  Good behavior will allow them to get out on their minimum, while misbehavior can cause them to spend time beyond their minimum.
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Money.
When an inmate is incarcerated, any money they have is taken and accounted for.  This money is placed into an account where it is available for the inmate’s use.   When the inmate is released, any money they have left in their account is returned to the inmate minus any amounts owed the Prison for various fees for services provided for the inmate while they were incarcerated.

The Prison has a policy of making the inmate responsible for various services provided to them.  As a result of these fees, an inmate may owe money to the Prison.  Please be advised that if you send money to an inmate and they owe money to the Prison up to 60% of the money you send will be deducted and used to offset the amount owed. 

If you have any questions about these fees, please feel free to ask a Corrections Officer for a brochure explaining the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program or click on this link for a copy.

If you want to send money to an inmate you are advised that the Prison only accepts money orders made payable to the inmate and received through the mail. 

The Prison also offers a program that allows you to send money to an inmate through jpay.

jpay allows you to send money to an inmate from the comfort of your own home! Jpay lets you conveniently, securely, and cost-effectively fund an inmate’s trust account online.

You can use a Discover, Visa or MasterCard credit card, or a Discover, Visa or MasterCard branded debit card to send money to an inmate.

You can also use cash to send money to an inmate, but you must first contact a Jpay customer service representative to set up a cash collection account. To go to the jpay website click the logo below.  

Upon release, the inmate will be mailed a check for money remaining in his account, minus any amount that are due the prison from their incarceration.

The inmates are not allowed to have any money in their possession while in the Prison. If they are caught with any, it is treated as a misconduct and dealt with accordingly.
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Contraband.
Many items you would consider as nothing out of the ordinary can cause severe problems inside a correctional facility. When you think of contraband inside a Prison you often think of items such as weapons, tools, and drugs and you are right. But this is only a small part of what is considered contraband in the Prison. Items such as paper clips and staples, chewing gum, and tobacco are among the items not allowed in the Prison. 

The Prison is a smoke free facility so the inmates are not allowed to posses tobacco in any form nor or they allowed to posses any lighting equipment such as lighters and matches. Paper clips and staples can be used for a multitude of things ranging from being used for tattooing to making picks for locks. 

The inmates have 24 hours a day to think of ways to get around the system, and some do all they can to try and get around the system. By restricting what they have access to helps us  try to keep ahead of them.
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Telephone.
The inmates have access to telephones that they may use if they desire to do so. When an inmate is committed to the Prison, they are given the opportunity to fill out a phone list of people they wish to be able to call.  The inmate is given a P.I.N. number and this number has to match up with the number they are trying to call. the numbers are recorded in a computer and when an inmate makes a phone call they have to enter their P.I.N. number and then the person receiving the call has to agree to accept the call. 

There are several benefits to using a P.I.N. number system. It is a way to restrict the inmate from calling people who do not want to be called by the inmate, such as the victim or others. 

The calls are very similar to collect calls even if they are made to people who live in the local calling area.  The rates charged for these calls are comparable to collect call rates.

The phone system does not allow any incoming calls and has technology to defeat third party calls that inmates use to set up scams to unsuspecting victims. 

The County receives a benefit from the inmate telephone system. A percentage of the profit is returned to the Inmate's welfare account and items that the County would ordinarily have to pay for with tax dollars can be purchased with this money. 
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