by Steve Reinbrecht
The state Department of Corrections
has no plans to expand the number of residents at the Wernersville Community
Corrections Center [WCCC] in South Heidelberg, a spokeswoman said last week.
South Heidelberg Police Chief Barry Whitmoyer has said the center should have fewer residents – and would be best
limited to people from Berks.
About 18 percent of the population are
from outside Berks. That's because the places where they live don’t have these kinds of
centers, department spokeswoman Amy Worden said in an e-mail.
She said the residents, whom she calls
“re-entrants,” are in the half-way house program to help them get education and
work so they can succeed after incarceration.
Whitmoyer also thinks it’s inefficient
to have the men so far from jobs and educational opportunities.
Worden said the center, a former state
mental hospital, is well suited for the WCCC's operations. Center officials are considering
offering more services at the center to reduce some of the outside traveling
and to better serve the residents, she said.
Department officials met with
Wernersville Police Chief William Schlichter last week to discuss community
issues, Worden said. He wasn't immediately available.
She said the department has received
complaints of WCCC residents gathering in small groups in the Wernersville
area, that some have behaved inappropriately or loitered in businesses.
“Unfortunately some of the re-entrants
have committed new offenses in the Berks County area.”
Worden acknowledged there have been 21
drug overdoses at the WCCC so far this year.
Worden gave these answers to my questions.
“The Department of Corrections is
committed to ensuring the safety of communities in which our halfway houses are
located,” she wrote.
What is the goal and purpose of the center?
The goal of the center is to
successfully return re-entrants to their homes and their communities as
productive, law-abiding citizens.
Why is the center established so far out in the sticks?
The physical plant at Wernersville Community
Corrections Center was designed as part of the [Wernersville State Hospital] mental
health facility. Given the design, it aligned well with the pre-release mission
that preceded the current operation at WCCC.
Where do the residents work and get education?
Most of the re-entrants work in the
Reading metropolitan area, while some venture further afield. For the most part,
those re-entrants involved in education or treatment programming do so at WCCC
or [other places] in Berks County. The majority of those receiving those
services go off site.
We are considering delivering more
services on site in order to reduce some of the outside movement and better
serve the re-entrant clientele.
Why not limit residence to Berks, as the local police chief
recommends?
We generally try to keep re-entrants
as close to their eventual homes as possible. WCCC serves Berks and surrounding
counties.
There is a need to provide services
for those re-entrants from the surrounding counties that exceeds our current
capacity in those areas.
We are constantly trying to develop
options across the Commonwealth to better serve our population.
What are the restrictions on when residents can come and go?
The re-entrants may only come and go
as needed for work, programs, to support their eventual home plans or the
occasional emergency.
Their movements are limited in
accordance with rules established by the DOC and the Board of Probation and
Parole.
What is the legal status of the residents? On parole, free, still
adjudicated?
The re-entrants are on parole but as
such have the same status as those living “at home.” Within the limitations of
the rules described above they have the same rights as you or I.
What complaints have you received about the center?
We have received complaints of too
many re-entrants gathering in small groups in the Wernersville area.
We have heard that some re-entrants
have gotten too familiar with local citizens and/or have used inappropriate
language, behaved inappropriately or loitered in certain businesses.
And we have had complaints of drug
use. Unfortunately some of the re-entrants have committed new offenses in the
Berks County area.
Are there plans to increase the population there?
There are absolutely no plans to
increase the population at WCCC.
How many drug overdoses have been reported there so far this year?
21 overdoses. (To put this in
perspective, 600 re-entrants have been housed there total this year. This is a
total number, not all at one time. They cycle through according to their
sentencing.)
How many residents were transferred to WCCC when the Allentown
center closed?.
Fewer than a dozen re-entrants were
transferred as a direct result of the closing of Allentown CCC.
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