Thursday, March 14, 2002
The fee could make up for lost revenue when the county stops housing Mercer County's inmates.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Lawrence County Prison Board will investigate a pay-as-you-stay policy for inmates.
County Commissioner Roger DeCarbo asked the board to consider a policy similar to the one recently enacted in Mercer County. Starting April 1, those incarcerated in the Mercer County Jail must pay a $10-per-day fee.
Brian Burick, president of the Lawrence prison board, intends to talk to Mercer officials about their new policy when he visits surrounding county jails sometime in the next month.
Meeting desired: Burick wants to meet with Mercer, Beaver and Butler officials to garner new ideas and talk over problems. Mercer and Butler house prisoners in the Lawrence County Jail because of a lack of space in their own county jails.
Lawrence prison board officials like the inmate fee idea.
Commissioner Ed Fosnaught suggested it could make up for revenue the county will lose when Mercer County completes its new jail sometime next year and stops housing prisoners in Lawrence County.
Burick said the prison board considered a similar policy about five years ago after being approached by a private company interested in administering it, but dropped it when they determined it would be too costly.
He said board members were concerned at that time that they wouldn't be able to collect money once inmates were released.
Court order: Ralph D. Pratt, Lawrence County Common Pleas Court president judge, suggested the county make the daily inmate fee part of a court order when a person is sentenced.
"All it takes is a few more words typed in. The court is willing to do that," Pratt said.
Prison board officials agreed that a court order would make it easier to collect the money. Anyone not paying could be found in contempt of court and possibly be sent back to jail.