PRINTER'S NO. 802
No. 748 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY WAGNER, WILLIAMS, STAPLETON, KUKOVICH, MELLOW,
WOZNIAK, KASUNIC, BELAN, BODACK, AFFLERBACH, O'PAKE, COSTA,
HART, MUSTO AND STOUT, MARCH 19, 1997
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, MARCH 19, 1997
AN ACT
1 Creating and providing for the maintenance of a search team to
2 conduct random safety and security inspections of State
3 correctional facilities; and further providing for the powers
4 and duties of the Department of Corrections.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Creation of search team.
8 (a) Purpose.--A search team of 30 persons is hereby created
9 to conduct random safety and security inspections of State
10 correctional facilities.
11 (b) Composition.--The team shall be composed of 20 men and
12 ten women who have at least four years of working experience in
13 safety, security, police science or prisons. These persons shall
14 be physically and mentally fit, agile, capable of demonstrating
15 authority, experienced in safety and security and highly
16 honorable.
17 (c) Selection.--Candidates shall be selected by the
18 Secretary of Corrections and the Commissioner of the
1 Pennsylvania State Police.
2 Section 2. Training.
3 (a) Aspects of training.--Each search team member shall be
4 trained in the following:
5 (1) Safety and security for prisons.
6 (2) Department of Corrections and prison regulations
7 concerning items prisoners are forbidden to have.
8 (3) How to conduct thorough yet fast prison inspections
9 while maintaining order in the facility.
10 (4) Procedure to be followed when forbidden items and
11 unsafe circumstances are discovered in a random inspection.
12 (b) Training to be ongoing.--Each search team member shall
13 drill individually and as an integral part of the search team on
14 a regular basis to maintain fitness and readiness.
15 Section 3. Duties of search team.
16 (a) Random inspections of correctional facilities.--The
17 search team shall conduct thorough random inspections of each
18 correctional facility of this Commonwealth. Searches shall be
19 unannounced and shall occur at least twice a year in each
20 facility.
21 (b) Report.--The search team shall file a report with the
22 Secretary of Corrections and with the superintendent of the
23 facility no later than one week after a search. The report shall
24 indicate clearly whether the inspected correctional facility is
25 safe from escape for the surrounding communities and safe for
26 employees and inmates. If the facility is not safe and secure,
27 specific items of concern shall be listed, along with the
28 location of each item of concern and the potential danger it
29 creates. A time table to correct the problems identified must be
30 part of the report.
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1 Section 4. Follow-up inspections.
2 There shall be a Regional Deputy Secretary of Corrections
3 designated for each of the eastern, middle and western regions
4 of this Commonwealth. The deputy secretaries of the two regions
5 wherein the inspected correctional facility does not lie shall
6 be responsible for conducting a follow-up inspection to certify
7 the facility as being safe and secure. The follow-up inspection
8 shall be announced and shall occur between 10 and 15 days after
9 the random inspection has been made. If the deputy secretaries
10 have remaining or new items of concern, they shall notify the
11 Secretary of Corrections and the superintendent of the facility
12 immediately and shall supervise immediate elimination of or a
13 plan addressing these concerns. This follow-up inspection may be
14 done with the assistance of the search team if its assistance is
15 deemed necessary by the deputy secretaries.
16 Section 5. Effective date.
17 This act shall take effect immediately.
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