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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County expressing the sense of Council regarding the search and hiring processes for a new Allegheny County Jail Warden.
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WHEREAS, on August 8, 2023, Chief Executive Fitzgerald announced the retirement of Allegheny County Jail Warden Orlando Harper, effective September 30, 2023; and,
WHEREAS, in the press release that announced this retirement, the Chief Executive indicated that the administration “will be working with President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark to identify a search firm. That firm will be tasked with putting together a full profile on the county and jail and will also be responsible for providing opportunities for the community to weigh in on the type of person that should be selected and the priorities that the person should have for the facility and its operations.”; and
WHEREAS that same press release indicated that the last search for a new ACJ Warden “took well over a year, and so the work being done now is intended to give the next county executive a head start in the search process.”; and
WHEREAS, within the context of identifying qualified candidates, it must also be remembered that there are significant challenges facing any new Warden; and
WHEREAS, among these challenges, a 2023 survey of ACJ corrections officers disclosed that:
• Over 90% of the respondents to the survey expressed disagreement with the statement that they feel valued and respected as a member of the ACJ staff, and over 59% of the respondents expressed this as a statement with which they “strongly disagree.”
• 92% indicated that they have increased concerns about their personal safety while at work.
• 100% indicated that the ACJ is not adequately staffed with corrections officers.
• Over 76% indicated that they are asked to perform work outside of their job descriptions, and almost 72% indicated that they do not feel they have been adequately trained to perform all of the tasks that they are required to undertake.
• About 93% indicated that forced overtime has disrupted their lives, and nearly 90% indicated that it has worsened their physical and/or mental health.
• Almost 90% indicated that ACJ management does not understand the challenges corrections officers face in their jobs, and over 90% indicated that management is not receptive to their feedback or suggestions; and
WHEREAS, a separate survey of healthcare workers within the ACJ also conducted in 2023 found that:
• Well over 90% of respondents indicated that morale is a major problem among staff.
• Over 80% said that they are unable to complete all of their tasks while providing quality health care.
• Almost 97% indicated that the ACJ’s Health Care Administrator is unqualified to make medical decisions about patient health care.
• 100% indicated that there are not enough health care employees to fill all shifts; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that the data reflected in these surveys is not theoretical; it comes from real individuals who are in the ACJ daily, and this information constitutes a profoundly concerning warning to the County and its residents about the working environment at the ACJ; and,
WHEREAS, the picture painted by these surveys is of a caustic, toxic workplace in which inadequate numbers of staff are forced to perform - to the point of exhaustion - tasks for which they were not trained, and in which supervisory staff is unresponsive, unqualified, or both; and
WHEREAS, this impression is largely borne out by anecdotal evidence from the Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union safety reports, which are replete with examples of inadequate staffing and its deleterious effects upon both ACJ employees and the residents, and tragically reinforced by 20 inmate deaths since April of 2020; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that this situation is unacceptable; we owe our employees a safe working environment, staffed at adequate levels to meet the needs of the facility, and in this context, employee retention is just as vital as hiring: a clear plan for addressing the obvious concerns of existing ACJ employees must be created; and
WHEREAS, it is also clear that the County has a duty to the individuals housed at the ACJ, for if the goal of the criminal justice system is rehabilitation, we must ensure that individuals’ mental and physical health needs are adequately addressed, and that the environment at the ACJ is not so devoid of supervision that it essentially requires that individuals conduct more criminal activities merely in an effort to keep themselves safe; and,
WHEREAS, the current administration has had direct supervisory authority over the County Jail since 2012, and any perception that the current administration might utilize the data gathering process to portray the ACJ’s issues more favorably than they actually are must be avoided at all costs; and
WHEREAS, furthermore, any disproportionately favorable presentation of information to the next administration would necessarily undermine the entire search process, and render it significantly more difficult (if not impossible) to adequately address the ACJ’s many issues, and must therefore also be avoided at all costs; and
WHEREAS, while it is the Council’s considered opinion that gathering information for the use of the next administration in selecting a new ACJ Warden has the potential to be a useful undertaking, it is also the judgment of Council that the current state of the Allegheny County Jail clearly and conclusively dictates that under no circumstances should the current administration interpret or select what data is provided for the next administration’s use, and that the next administration must be given the ability to make its own decisions regarding the ACJ, based upon unfettered access to unbiased information;
The Council of the County of Allegheny therefore hereby moves as follows:
First, that Allegheny County Council demands that the next administration be afforded the opportunity to select the next Allegheny County Jail Warden, and that the current administration should prioritize improving the function of and services and safety within the ACJ; and
Second, to the extent that the current administration gathers data for the next administration’s use in hiring the next Allegheny County Jail Warden, under no circumstances should the current administration interpret or select what data is provided to the next administration; and
Third, that the next administration must be given the ability to make its own decisions regarding the ACJ, based upon unfettered access to unbiased information.