LAWRENCE COUNTY Mangino aims to halt jail drug use
Police chiefs are concerned about the jail's turning away prisoners.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County District Attorney Matthew Mangino wants to see changes in the work release program at the county jail to stem a growing drug problem.
Seven people, including a corrections officer and three inmates, were arrested recently for bringing OxyContin into the jail. Police are also investigating the death of inmate George Crepp Jr., 21, of Ellwood City from a suspected drug overdose.
No body cavity searches
Mangino told prison board members Wednesday that he recently learned that corrections officers will not be permitted to perform body cavity searches on inmates returning from work or child-care release.
"It appears we have no way to stop it," Mangino said of the drug flow into the jail.
He suggested changing the release programs.
"If we can't secure the building, then I can't see how we can let the programs go on," Mangino said.
Stricter policies
Lawrence County President Judge Dominick Motto said he has started taking a stricter approach to granting work release. He said inmates who have long-standing jobs will be granted it, but those who have a spotty work record and only recently acquired their jobs before imprisonment won't be given work release. Special hearings will be held for those who gain employment after entering the jail, he said.
It appears that drugs aren't the only problems plaguing the jail.
Four police chiefs attended Wednesday's prison board meeting to voice concerns about a new medical questionnaire given to all new inmates. The chiefs said their prisoners are being turned away because they are saying they are suicidal. They believe most prisoners are using it as ploy to avoid or delay going to jail.
Shenango Township Police Chief Alan Nocera said he had a medical clearance from a doctor for a prisoner who was turned away because he said he was suicidal. It took three hours to clear up the situation, he said.
The police chiefs say they are often forced to return to the hospital, where the inmates are also turned away unless they are guarded by police or deputy sheriffs.
New Castle Police Chief Tom Sansone noted that some inmates who are suicidal may be better off in the secured jail. A man arrested by New Castle police last month who said he was suicidal escaped from the mental health unit at Jameson Hospital. He held an elderly couple hostage and later stole their car and crashed it into another vehicle, severely injuring the other driver.
Mangino agreed that suicidal inmates may be better off in jail.
"The No. 1 concern should be public safety. Now we have to find a way that people are properly secured," he said.
Warden Mark Fellows said most of the problems happen during the midnight shift, when trained medical personnel are gone. Corrections officers are asking the medical intake questions and turning inmates away, he said.
Fellows suggested adding more medical staff to cover the midnight shift or giving more training to corrections officers handling prisoner intake.
The prison board did not indicate if either idea would be given consideration.