Franklin Co. jail wins statewide award

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — A recent award recognized Franklin County Jail for “best criminal justice practices,” which focused on the way the jail’s average daily population lowered in recent years.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania presented Franklin County with an “honorable mention” for operating a Day Reporting Center to rehabilitate offenders with drug and alcohol problems.

“It’s really an award for the whole (county) system,” Warden John Wetzel said, although the county commissioners provided a lot of praise for Wetzel last week.

The Day Reporting Center opened in April 2006. Criminal offenders go to the center each day for things like anger management classes, life skills sessions to promote employability, and GED classes. All are coupled with programs that address alcohol and drug dependency.

“It’s a place where they get drug tested ... and they get whatever programming they need. These needs are what lead them to commit crimes,” Wetzel said.

He said participants must meet several criteria including being classified as a low risk to public safety.

The average jail population decreased from 376 in 2005 to 330 in 2008. The average thus far in 2009 is 290.

However, one of the Day Reporting Center’s major benefits for taxpayers is that offenders’ enrollment in those programs mean they aren’t taking up beds at the jail. The open beds allow Wetzel and his staff to accept offenders from Fulton County, Pa., and the U.S. Marshals program, both of which must pay for the inmates’ stays.

Fulton County and the U.S. Marshals are on target to generate $1 million in revenue in 2009, Wetzel said.

The warden feels the Day Reporting Center provides long-term solutions to problems with repeat offenses.

“Before, there were no other options. Either you were in jail or in the community,” Wetzel said.

Originally at - www.herald-mail.com