COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Remote location using Microsoft® Teams Wednesday, November 1, 2023 10:00 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR., CHAIR COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON, VICE-CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILMAN JIM HARRITY
Thank you so very much. Good morning, everyone. This is a public hearing on the Committee of Public Safety regarding Resolution No. 230467. And before we begin this hearing, I'd like Mr. Glass to read an important announcement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I understand that state law currently requires that the following announcement be made at the beginning of every remote public hearing as follows: Due to the current public health emergency, City Council Committees are currently meeting remotely. We are using Microsoft Teams to make these remote hearings possible. Instructions for how the public may view and offer public testimony at public hearings of Council Committees are included in the public hearing notices that are published in The Daily News, Inquirer and Legal Intelligencer prior to the hearings and can also be found on PHLCouncil.com. Everyone who has been invited to the meeting to testify should be aware that this public hearing is being recorded. Because the hearing is public, participants and viewers have no reasonable expectation of privacy. By continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to being recorded. Additionally, prior to Councilman Jones recognizing Members for the questions or comments they have for the witnesses, I will note for the record at this time we will use the chat feature available in Microsoft Teams to allow Members to signify that they wish to be recognized. In order to comply with the Sunshine Act, the chat feature must only be used for this purpose. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Mr. Glass. We will now take the roll to establish a quorum.
Thank you, Mr. Glass. We will now read the title of the resolution and begin our hearing. We have a --
I'm here also even though he didn't call me. Councilwoman Vaughn.
The author of the resolution. Thank you, Member Vaughn. We note for the record your presence.
Mr. Chairman, the title of the resolution, Resolution 23 No. 230467, authorizing the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings regarding the escape of two inmates from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center on the evening of May 7, 2023 and the persistent systemic issues within the Philadelphia Department of Prisons that made such an escape possible.
Member Vaughn, we'd like to open this hearing with comments from you.
Okay. Good morning, everyone. And, Commissioner, I don't think I greeted you when I first came on. I thank you all for joining and I just want to state that the reason for this hearing is to make sure that our City will be safe from this event ever happening again. I wanted to get information on how it occurred and what has been done since it happened to make sure that this occurrence won't happen again here in Philadelphia. I would appreciate as much information as possible to be shared with this quorum. And if you feel that some information should not be shared with the public, by all means do not. I don't think I have to tell you that because I am not looking to hurt anyone or cause a riot or put people in a position where they have more information than they may have had prior to this event that will allow them advice or information to do it better the next time. I don't want that to happen. I want the inmates to be safe. I want the people that work with them to remain safe and I also want our City of Philadelphia to remain safe. That is the whole purpose of this meeting. And I hope that we can come to a reasonable conclusion at the end of this. Thank you.
Thank you, Member Vaughn. And we share that opinion that this is a hearing to try to figure out how do we move in a direction that makes us all safer as a city. So with that, Mr. Glass, will you please read the names of the first panel to testify.
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Our first panel is Commissioner Blanche Carney from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons.
Welcome, Commissioner, and thank you for your attendance. Please state your name for the record and begin your testimony. COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Thank you, Chairman Jones and other members of Council. Blanche Carney, Commissioner of Philadelphia Department of Prisons. Good morning, Councilmember Jones, Chair of the Committee on Public Safety and members of City Council. I am the Commissioner of Philadelphia Department of Prisons and I'm here to provide an update to the testimony given on June 23, 2023 for Resolution 1 No. 230467 regarding the escape of two inmates from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center on May 7, 2023. I will recite the points stated in Resolution 230467 followed by my responses. My testimony pertains to the resolution authorizing the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings regarding the escape of two inmates from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center on the evening of May 7, 2023 and the persistent systemic issues within the Philadelphia Department of Prisons that made such an escape possible. The two escaped inmates exited through the recreational yard fence by crawling underneath an opening in the fence running to the secondary perimeter fence, climbing on an exterior security alert pole that was no longer in operation in order to scale the second door perimeter fence, and using a prison-issued sweatshirt to move across the barbed wire and make their way off the prison grounds to an awaiting vehicle. The City of Philadelphia's Law Department contracted outside legal counsel to work with us, the Department of Prison's Office of Professional Compliance as we conducted an extensive investigation into the events which allowed the escape of two inmates from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. The Office of Professional Compliance conducted an extensive investigation of the escapees to identify staff to be interviewed, inmate phone call recordings, security tapes, staff assignments and physical tours of the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional facility. The efforts of the Office of Professional Compliance resulted in hours of interviewing, and a preliminary draft report was shared with the outside legal counsel for their review. PDP has also complied with any request it has received from the District Attorney's Office. While the investigation is still ongoing, I'm unable to provide testimony on additional personnel- related actions that may occur as a result. We took immediate steps to re-assign executive leadership of the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional facility in May of 2023, and those executive leadership staff were replaced May 22nd. And we have implemented the following security upgrades to prevent another escape attempt from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. Specifically for the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center security upgrades are as follows: We made immediate repairs of the prison fence of the recreation yard where the inmates escaped. There has been installation and ongoing additional installation of razor wire along the immediate recreation area and outer fencing. It was the removal of the security alert posts that were no 7 longer in operation. They have been removed. The installation of river rock along the exterior of fencing of PICC to prevent a soft landing, which could result in injury to one's legs and feet, added an additional post for permanent roving by our prison vehicle. Installation of new correctional officers booth with a new gate arm in the PICC staff parking lot, installation of LED lighting which gives us a brighter illumination in front of the PICC administrative parking lot. We reinforce policies for door security and yard patrols so to ensure that any door that has a door it should be locked and then to increase our yard patrols. Yard doors remain properly secured when recreation is not in use.
Installation of additional cameras in front of PICC. In addition to those upgrades for PICC, the following have been completed for our campus grounds: Installation of LED stadium lighting at the Detention Center, which allows us greater illumination on our perimeter and visibility, massive removal of brush and bushes for maximum distance sight line throughout our campus and perimeter. That was a huge undertaking but we achieved that, so anyone we have a greater visibility. The following upgrades are in progress and, that is, the installation of circuit wiring to install additional LED lighting on our perimeter. Along our campus installation of additional cameras for perimeter of campus, both on the campus and inside our facilities and installation of additional perimeter cameras for CFCF, PICC and RCF. So those projects are in progress either through the Procurement of contracting, the beginning of the circuit wiring to install that additional lighting and cameras. We are dealing with the aftermath and impacts of the pandemic on our staffing levels. At present, we have correctional officer vacancies. We continue our efforts to hire and fill uniform vacancies. We work with the Central Office of Human Resources to allow for continuous job announcements, allowing applicants to apply without breaks in the announcement. Additionally, we continue our recruitment efforts through job advertisements on SEPTA buses and stops, platforms, radio ads and social media outlets as well as participation at job fairs. We strive to make Corrections attractive again in this competitive labor market and select qualified applicants. This staff shortage is coupled with a static population that averages 4,700-plus daily. The City committed to reducing its prison population by 50 percent in response to the MacArthur Foundation safety and justice challenge to reimagine and rebuild local criminal justice systems by reducing jail incarceration and increasing equity for all. The City's initial efforts to reduce the prison population through collaboration with all of its criminal justice system made tremendous progress from 2015 to 2019. The population is now static, averaging 200 in days length of 22 stay, comprised of 89 percent 23 pretrial and 11 percent sentenced individuals. The entire criminal justice system must resume its previous efforts to decrease the PDP population, thereby to meet the initial goal of the MacArthur initiative and reduce the strain on the PDP operations. The PDP continues to manage operations and conditions to best serve the population and our dedicated staff in service to the City of Philadelphia. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide this testimony.
Thank you so much, Commissioner. Couple of questions before I turn it over to members of the Committee. What is the national average for facilities like yours over a period of time? I know that the Chester situation happened. Are we above or below the escape levels of other comparable facilities? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Councilmember, because this is happening I have not looked at if we're above or below, but we are part of those national jurisdictions that are experiencing escapes. So we know what happened in Chester County. We know what happened in three other counties here in Pennsylvania, and most recently there were four escapes from Macon, Georgia. So these escapes are happening more routinely than was previously expected and it is based solely on the number of factors. Corrections and -- not too many folks are really talking about it but you and this Councilmember -- the Committee, but Corrections, we have been obliterated by the pandemic and we are challenged with trying to maintain a population that's static, 4700-plus with the limited workforce that are dedicated and committed to coming. So that can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. We had two; Chester had one; Macon, Georgia had four; Chicago had recently. So this is happening around the country more than we would like. Virginia just had two escapes as well. So this is a correlation with the great number of folks in custody and up against a very impacted minimal staffing level for correctional officers.
So if I understood what you just said, that some of this has to do with staffing levels? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Some of it has to do with staffing levels, and then some of it is based on what we're seeing, just making sure any door that is there should be secured at all times. So if it has a lock, lock it, follow your policies. So all of these factors go into how an escape can occur.
So this is not our first hearing. So some of this information is not new to this Committee. So how are we doing on hirings? What is our current vacancy level to date? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: We have 867 uniform vacancies for correctional officers. That was my last run, and that was last week. I can provide you with the current number and do another run today. But the vacancy level, we are hiring but not at the numbers I would like. We have experienced incremental increase in our classes where we were averaging to 25. We're averaging 14 30 to 33 now. 15 We just graduated a class a 16 week and a half ago. We had a class 17 of 30 start on Monday. So even 18 though we have continuous classes, we 19 need to increase the number of 20 eligible applicants that --
Are we providing incentives for hiring such as bonuses, signing bonuses? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Yes, we do have the signing bonus. We also have the signing bonus of once you complete the academy, you receive another bonus. We have an attendance incentive and we've increased the salaries for the correctional officers, so we also have a bonus that we provide to any of our workforce that refers someone who clears the background check. They can receive a bonus for that referral once the person completes the academy, so there is funding --
How much is that bonus for the record? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: It's $500.
Is that twice once you sign and once you complete the training? Is that two different -- COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Two different totaling $500, so it's 250 and 250.
We might want to take a look at increasing that. I'll bring that up to Member Gilmore Richardson, you know, as an increased incentive to get people to take on the corrections officer position. Let me segue, and this will be my last question before I turn it over. We had previously talked about the locks up at the facility and replacing them. Where are we on the schedule of replacing those locks on doors? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: So CFCF full replacement of locks, so the entirety of the facility has been outfitted with locks. RCF, all locks have been replaced. PICC we had 20 outstanding locks. 11 have been -- of that 20, 11 have been completed. They needed extensive framework, so it wasn't just the locking mechanism itself. There was some damage to the cell doors that had to be retrofitted. So the remainder at CFCF, we completed the 11. We're also working on looking at the Detention Center. We have -- even though we depopulated it, we're doing some renovations at the Detention Center to replace the slider and some of the lock work there so we can utilize those cells based on our census going up. So those sliders will take us some time to get because that facility was built in the '60s. Some of those parts are not available, have to be retrofitted or manufactured and new to comply with the existing structures, so that's our next task. But pretty much CFCF is complete, RCF's complete, PICC is close with the additional framework and DC is the next we'll tackle.
Commissioner, what was the condition of the locks from the cell that the two inmates escaped from? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Those were brand new locks. They just were -- the door was not properly secured.
Yes. To my understanding, there was a count, several counts done while in assisting these people with escaping. What has been done to create a check and balance so that an officer will not be able to falsify documents? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: So what we put in place was reiterating the policy which would have -- and is sufficient that you have to have a secondary layer for someone to check that count for accuracy. So it's not just filling out the paperwork but a sergeant or lieutenant and a captain overseeing what is the final count, sitting with that lieutenant to confirm is this the accuracy, holding and making sure people attest to the accuracy of that, not just signing off and then calling it in.
Okay. Because of the low staff, I understand a new system or new schedule has been put in place. How is that operating thus far? They have a certain amount of days to work and a certain amount of days off or a longer shift. Could you explain to me exactly what's happening with that? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Yes. So that is our 2-2-3 schedule. Prior to implementing the 2-2-3 schedule, correctional staff would work six days straight before they received a day off. The 2-2-3 allows for more of a work life balance, two days on, two days off, three days on. And with that schedule, we're able to give two weekends off per month. Before that, they had to work six straight days. And understanding that we're human beings and this is a challenging job, we have to give our staff time to recuperate, to breathe, to have time with their family. And since we implemented that, the feedback has been positive. Staff are reporting to me personally, you know, I have more time, my wife or spouse has a honey-do list for me and I'm able to make gains. So I thought that was the best approach because when you know better you do better, and that was my way of saying we have to do things different. This work is challenging, but working what we call iron man hours six days straight, that was a time. But now we're in the present and we should be working to do better with scheduling.
Great, great. I think that's a good idea, and it also gives them less exposure to a lot of the things that happened, like they smoke that K2 in the prison and things like that, and it allows people a little more freedom so I appreciate you for that. And also less fatigue, because if you're overworked, you sometimes cut corners. So hopefully this will improve that situation as well. I guess the last thing I wanted to know, you said the door was not locked properly but it was a new lock. So is it something the prisoner was able to do to make sure the door didn't get locked properly? And has that possibility been removed or corrected in some way? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Yes, it has. When we began the installation of all the locks system-wide and just added the addition to CFCF just because it was the correct thing to do, we have a video, training video that we put out. As the correctional officers are securing folks inside their cells, we're asking them as you push and pull, to make sure that that door and the latch is catching. So any obstruction can be recognized. Also, with the yard door leading out into the recreational yard, making sure those doors remain secured, properly locked at all times when recreation is not in use.
Some of my best comments have been when I'm muted. But thank you for those questions, Member Vaughn, and for your laser focus on this issue. So there is no perfect department or operation, but I think it's safe to say that you are constantly evaluating and trying to make improvements. The question I would have, you mentioned that there were some staff relocations or without talking about disciplinary actions, without violating it, you made certain moves based on what your evaluation was? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: The immediate action I took was to transfer the executive leadership at that time, and I have since appointed a warden and another deputy there. But as the report is still being finalized, I can't say at this time what portions I can release, but it contains private, personal and prison security information. But once it's finalized, I may be able to share that privately because of the sensitivity of staff or personnel decisions. But the immediate was because of the gravity of it, it was immediate transfer of the executive leadership team.
Understood and understand the privacy aspect of it. Are there any -- Mr. Glass, are there any other Members that wish to question Commissioner Carney?
Mr. Chairman, just for the record I'd like to note that Councilmember Thomas is present.
And Councilmember Harrity would like to be recognized for questions.
Good morning, Commissioner. My question actually is just about recruitment. Meeting with the police officials at the academy and all that stuff, one of the complaints was that while they're getting a certain number of recruits, some of them can't pass the first initial physical exams and they're talking about possibly getting a waiver for them to take those physical tests after they complete the academy when they may be better in shape. Is that something that may -- are you guys experiencing that kind of stuff too where you're maybe -- you said 30 to 33 per class. Like where you're getting maybe 70 people signing up, but only 33 are able to pass the initial criteria? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Thank you for that question. The majority of our folks that are not accepted is because of the background checks and may have a record. Since over a year and a half, we've been strategic and working with OHR to remove the weight restrictions to say give people an opportunity to demonstrate that they can do it, so that hasn't been our challenge. So we're doing a number of -- we looked at a number of things. So weight, we're going to take you. If you can pass our test, you're in. But prior to our making that request if someone went down to get their medical clearance and they were overweight, then they were just rejected. So we no longer have that challenge. So we were saying give us -- let the person demonstrate they can do it. If they can, they're in.
Okay. And just one other thing. So you said most of them are knocked off because of the criminal record part, right? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Yes. COUNCILMAN HARRITY. Okay. Nowadays criminal records as long as they're nonviolent, a lot of that stuff can be expunged after 5 years, 10 years. It's actually very simple. Are we giving any of these people that are maybe just on the cusp nonviolent but got in trouble and maybe it is over 5, years since 4 they got in trouble and we could try 5 to shift them to getting their record 6 expunged and then reapplying? 7 COMMISSIONER CARNEY: If their 8 record is expunged, we've had a few 9 individuals that provided updated 10 information to show that their records were expunged, just a case- by-case basis. They were nonfelonies and we brought those folks in. So we had some folks during the process they were even taking their driver's exam, more flexibility with that to get them in. So we're doing a number of things that we didn't previously do. But because this is such a competitive labor market, we're trying to track people back to Corrections as a viable public safety, you know, career. We're looking at everything, like what are the blocks. So anything that I receive as, hey, this person was not accepted, we look at it case-by-case, and then we work with Central HR to work with them to get any barriers removed that we can.
Beautiful. All right. Commissioner, thank you. Appreciate the work you do. I know it's not an easy job, so thank you. No more questions.
Thank you, Member Harrity. Appreciate it. Mr. Glass, anyone else?
Mr. Chairman, I am not seeing any more hands raised or questions in the chat. I see Councilmember Vaughn had questions, but I don't know if that was from before or not.
Okay. One other question: There was an apprehension of someone who was on the outside aiding and abetting the inmates that escaped; is that correct? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: That is correct. There was one civilian -- well, two civilian accomplices and one in the awaiting vehicle.
Is there anything you can share by way of advanced correspondence through FaceTime, through phone calls, through visits that could have tipped us off that this escape was being planned? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: We do listen to phone calls. Because we did not have more knowledge of it to give us a chance to say, these individuals listen to, we record phone calls, we have intel, but unfortunately there were no 24 indicators at that time where I can say -- and I can't share much more. But we are utilizing intel. We're using phone calls, recordings, visits because we have the capability. When something's on our radar, we are able to pick it up.
But as a general course -- never mind, I retract that question. All right. Thank you very much for your testimony. There are no other questions for the Commissioner. Mr. Glass, can you bring up the next panel?
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Our next panel will be District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Mr. District Attorney, how are you? DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: I'm very well, Chairman. Thank you. First of all, I want to introduce Brett Zakeosian, a very talented qualified Assistant District Attorney who has been pouring over the evidence and information we have in relation to this prison assault -- I'm sorry, prison escape, and who is going to be prosecuting it. I'll have a couple more comments. We do have a couple of photographs. We have a little bit of video to show you and I have an invitation, which I think is very important for those of you who are in government who are deeply concerned about what has been occurring in the prisons. I want you to know that I will be extending an invitation, not for this short 15-minute presentation, but for the two, two and a half hour version where everything that we are able to show you will be shown. It's quite a bit of video. It's quite a bit of audio, and I think it sheds a lot of light on the situation that we face here. Let me just start out by saying preliminarily as someone who spent more than a year of my life going into prisons and jails as part of my job, I went into the Curran- Fromhold Correctional Facility probably 1,000 but certainly more than 100 times. And I would like to remind everyone that the name is Curran-Fromhold for a reason and, that is, that Warden Curran, Deputy Warden Fromhold were murdered. And they were murdered in a prison riot, and they were murdered in a prison riot that occurred at Holmesburg Prison in 1973. That was a very, very dark and disturbing period in the United States. It came only two years after the prison riot, and everything that flowed around it that happened in Attica, New York. For those of you who have forgotten the prison riot in Attica, New York resulted in 43 deaths, 43 men killed. 33 of them inmates, 10 of them correctional officers. They died not in the way you might expect, but that is a discussion for another day. I think we all share a deep and abiding concern for the safety of anyone who works in a correctional facility and the safety of anyone who is an inmate in a correctional facility and the safety of everyone else in the community, and we should. We should because there is work to be done. Having said that, I do want to give a special greeting to all those members of Council who are here today because I appreciate your interest and concern about this. I mentioned to Councilmember Vaughn a few months ago that we had an ongoing investigation in the case. We did, we do now, that we would have more information today. We do have more information today but when we have two and a half hours of important information some of which is appropriate to spread on the public record, some of which is more appropriate so that we do not facilitate any sort of additional problems, to do so privately. It would be my wish that all of you, Chairman Jones, Councilmember Sharon Vaughn who was kind enough to initiate these proceedings, Vice- Chair Kenyatta Johnson, Councilmember Thomas, Councilmember Kendra Brooks, Councilmember Harrity and all of your colleagues would take the opportunity as soon as you are available to come to my office where we will not only present nearly all the information we have, everything we're allowed to present to you, but we will give you some of the -- we'll have some of the harder conversations that can't necessarily happen in 15 minutes and cannot happen right here. You should also know that that presentation looks like about 30 to 35 different pieces of video and audio, photography and other pieces of evidence. In this short presentation, we're only going to be able to present two or three, although I think that those three items will have their impact and will no doubt remind you of why I have this very serious concern that we all work together, that we avoid the blame game because we cannot have Attica here and we cannot have another Holmesburg prison riot here.
Our investigation around this case arose in the context of a few years of seeing some very negative things occur in the Philadelphia prisons. And I do not say that to point at anyone. I'm pointing at no 15 one except all of us who should work together to fix it. But those situations included things like a period of time when there were no 19 civilian visits. Yet we had a series of fatal overdoses of drugs that were occurring within the correctional facility, which means we know they weren't coming in from the visitors of inmates who were civilians. They were coming from personnel of some sort, not necessarily correctional officers. We had a prosecution involving brutality that occurred in the prison where we have video of a correctional officer breaking the law. We have had prosecutions that have involved investigation of very large numbers of contraband cell phones. And in case you thought contraband cell phones were no big deal, oh, yes, they are. We have one case involving a defendant with multiple murders who was found to have even more cell phones than he had criminal cases and had scratched the names of his victims into the wall of a cell. We have had a case in which a correctional -- not a correctional officer, excuse me. We have had a case in which someone who was involved with Food Services worked with an inmate, a guy who was running a drug corner. And by the time they were done with his contraband cell phone, there had been an exchange of money through the phone for the purchase and distribution of an AR-15 assault rifle on the street. All right. So before this escape ever occurred, we all knew that there were issues that were occurring. And once again, I point a finger at no one other than to say that this is something we need to work together on. The final piece of information that I think a lot of us had was that a murder had occurred on the grounds of the prisons, that someone had waited outside for a person that for whatever reason he believed would be released and that person murdered somebody, not his target actually but murdered the wrong person, misidentified the person. The murderer in that case is named Ameen Hurst. Okay. The murderer in that case is Ameen Hurst. The instigator, the main person in this escape is Ameen Hurst. That is what we're talking about. We're not just talking about the escape of someone who was arguably among the very most dangerous people in the prison, he had four open homicides, he had two open gunpoint robberies. We're talking about someone who was literally charged with murdering somebody on prison grounds and very close to where he was held in the PICC. So I say that to say that from the bottom of my heart I invite the Mayor, I invite the next Mayor, the day after election day or as soon as we can figure it out, I invite Council to get together with us so that we can be transparent and show you almost everything we have so you can work deeply on these issues. Now having said that, I also got to give a huge thank you to Diana Cortes, our City Solicitor. Without her intervention because of extreme issues with video up at the prisons, it is very likely we never would have gotten the video that we have. But she went to the wall to make sure that there was transparency here before things were erased over and in ways so that we could obtain video. One of the crucial issues that is revealed by our investigation is that the video system at the prisons has been so dysfunctional that, number one, for the most part it is not monitored live, no one's watching. And number two, for the most part you can't find the video you need. You can't go get it. The whole system will shut down. Obviously that's an issue that needs to be addressed. I'm very encouraged to hear that the Commissioner is talking about addressing it, but we are -- we're not necessarily talking about putting a bandage on a problem.
We might be talking about a complete replacement of that among other technological systems that present pretty serious issues. All right. So let me try to see what I can do to cover some ground here. I can tell you this, generally our job is to prosecute criminal activity. It's not to weigh in on whether something could be done better as a system or at least it's not our main activity, but obviously the prisons are a part of what we work on every day. So our comments here for the benefit of a group of people, and I assume everybody on this call is in that group who want to do better, may go beyond what is criminal and go on into some things that are just systemic problems. Call it negligence, call it malfeasance, call it whatever you want. I'm not here to say exactly what's criminal or not. We have already charged six people in this escape, the two escapes and four other individuals. We may or may not charge additional people, but we are here to talk about a problem so we don't have an Attica, so we don't have another Curran or another Fromhold losing their lives in the disorder that obviously we all want to try to work together to address. Issue No. 1 obviously is an issue around lack of staffing. I think that there has been much discussion around that. If I may respectfully suggest some questions and some inquiries that Council may wish to pursue because we do talk to law enforcement all the time. We hear a lot of things from people who don't necessarily want their names out there. But one of the things that I have heard in general around law enforcement, and I'm not saying it's specific to the prisons, is that people apply for jobs and often the list for the applicability is extremely delayed. I have heard some information about massive expenditures to advertise and attract applicants, but if those applicants who are interested in being let's say a police officer or correctional officer apply and they're not put on a list for months or for 12 8 months, then all the employable ones 9 will have another job. 10 On the other hand, if there is 11 a way to extremely quickly turn 12 around these applications and make a 13 thumbs up or a thumbs down hopefully 14 with cooperation of everybody, 15 including the involved unions in the 16 civil service process, then you may 17 have far more success than simply 18 advertising a job for people who can't afford to be unemployed for the period of time it takes for the list to show up. I will say that we know based on information we have there's a budgeted 1,719 correctional officer positions. 967 of them are sworn. You're looking at absentee rates -- despite some positive news inframarginal positive news, you're looking at some vacancy rates that are close to 40 percent. And there's no question that staffing issues relate to the escape itself. Do you want to show the photo at this time? All right. We have a couple photos in a video. We'll show you the video at the end, which is actually the video of the two escapees that would be Ameen Hurst and Nasir Grant sneaking across the tile floor of the correctional facility to make their way outside. We'll show you that in a moment. Okay. So this is a still photograph that relates to the video we'll show a little bit later. What you see there is a period of time when everybody's supposed to be in their cell. And yet you have an inmate in a white T-shirt with what looked like black basketball shorts and sliders who is walking around. That is not one of the escapees. That is in our opinion the lookout. And so that you understand, the video indicates that at a time when people are supposed to be locked up and there is supposed to be a guard who is sitting at the booth there that says stay behind line, the guard is not there. There is a guard who is inside of the tinted glass just above the booth that says stay behind the line and what the lookout is doing, he is going from cell to cell where the inmates are incarcerated.
He's had a long conversation of some sort with both escapees before they open the doors themselves. But what he does as he is allowed to ambulate within the prisons at this time, he keeps an eye on the guard who is inside the tinted window and who has, as I understand it, three different locations to watch. So when he sees the guard looking the other direction the escapees can sneak out. If you look at where the gentleman in the white T-shirt is staring, he is looking at an opening in the wall there. And if you look down at the floor, you'll see one of the escapees who is actually crawling through that door right now with the assistance of the lookout, we'll show you that video in a little bit. But this in and of itself shows multiple problems. One problem being that the guard who should be in that booth that says stay behind the line isn't there. Has left a shift, apparently a second shift that is, apparently after about 4 hours rather than completing the 8-hour shift. Likewise you are then left with one guard who's inside of that tinted area who's responsible for looking at three different directions. And then obviously there are some issues to inquire about when you have an inmate, an inmate whose name is Jose Flores-Huerta was in jail for murder for a beating death, a first-degree murder. And yet he is in the video that we'll show you and in this photograph walking around the prison engaging with people within their cells, apparently carrying bags of water and things like that to the cells while the prison is operating. In terms of the external infrastructure, I know there's been some commentary about the fact that there were two sensor poles that were removed and they were removed because they did not work, but I think it is important as this body tries to figure out more of what's going on to know that there's a longer history there. The longer history is that there are a series of fences that you have to get through in order to escape. The photograph that is up now is actually a photograph that shows the two sensor poles. They are within the cyclone fencing there. If you look down from the garment that is hanging from the razor wire, you'll see one of those two sensor poles. Those sensor poles were there to determine whether there was anything running around inside of that area. That area is known as a dog run because many years ago there was a dog that ran up and down in there for reasons I cannot validate or I can't swear to. The dog was removed and was replaced with these poles. These poles are supposed to sense anyone who's in the area. My understanding is they work by microwave. But here's the kicker, so for anybody who's been up there you'll know there are a lot of Canada geese that fly around. Well, over a decade ago, probably 15 to 20 years ago the Canada geese in the absence of a dog were landing in the dog run. And when they landed in the dog run, they were setting off the sensors. And when they were setting off the sensors, eventually someone decided to turn them off. They have been turned off for more than a decade. Okay. The escapees here managed to make their way out of the prison in 90 seconds. From the time they popped open their own doors, they made their way out of the prison in 90 seconds, they made their way under or through a precut portion of the fence, and we'll get to that, but they were in that dog run. This is a photograph of the fence itself, which was cut well in advance of the escape itself. If I recall correctly, it was about six weeks; is that right, Mr. Zakeosian?
Seven weeks. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: It was about seven weeks before the escape this was cut, and we have video indicating that prison personnel actually were aware of this four days before the escape because there's videos showing them out looking at it, pointing at it, doing, you know, indicating an awareness of what occurred here with this piece of the fence. 90 seconds to get out of prison through that hole fairly quickly, but they were stuck in that dog run for 30 minutes with no dog and no sensors. And it is correct that they climbed the sensor pole to make their way out of the dog run. So while I totally understand that the removal of those poles is one aspect of the problem, obviously there's a lot more to do than simply remove the poles when we have a situation where there could be and should be monitoring occurring in there. If we move on to issues around employee malfeasance, around dysfunction and failure, and once again I'm not pointing at anybody, I don't think that does us any good. I think we need to take in all the facts and figure everything out before we're ready to say exactly who is responsible for what, but I think you should know that we know the escape occurred during a four-hour gap. The correctional officer who should have been at the location I indicated before, that booth, left a second shift, had been held over to a second shift, left after four hours. There was no relief there. The escape occurs. When the relief finally shows up, that relief goes to sleep. We have the video indicating the relief went and sat in a chair and essentially slept. When it comes time to do the count, and I think this is an important thing to note because we're all aware that the escape itself was not something that was observed through the cameras that were essentially not going to serve that function. It's not something that was observed initially through a count. There were multiple counts that occurred after the escape that said nobody's missing, right. The way that this actually came to people's attention was there was some chatting going on among inmates that was overheard or maybe deliberately disclosed to a correctional officer many hours after to the escape and then that correctional officer started asking questions. So what I am telling you in no uncertain terms is that the correctional officer who came in after a four-hour gap produced at least -- either that correctional officer or that one and subsequent ones produced at least three incorrect counts. We know for a fact that that correctional officer did not go check the doors to see who was anywhere and seems to have interrupted her sleep only long enough to go over and punch in the prior number, the prior count number and send it along. Okay. A count is supposed to be a count. A count is not supposed to be a nap, followed by falsely asserting a number you never counted. But unfortunately, that is what we see when we look at that. I think that highlights for you some of the most salient issues that require inquiry. A lack of staffing, external infrastructure issues which are broader than what I mentioned. The security video issue is crucial, and I'm going to get to that in the context of the video we're about to show you. And then there's some internal non-video infrastructure issues as well. It is our purpose to work closely with everyone in government to make sure we have safety inside and outside of these prisons. But I want you to note something as we show you this final video which is the video of the escape. It's not the entire video of the escape. It's not going to show you right now in this public situation how it is that those inmates manipulated the doors, but we know, we have that video. And it is my sincere hope that those in government who have a keen interest in this will come to our office and allow us to show you that video as well. It will start with these two inmates who will be on the right side of your screen pushing their doors open.
Never mind how it is they do that, but pushing their doors open and it will then proceed to show you that they have no fear whatsoever of being on video. There's cameras all over. They know those cameras are not being watched or they wouldn't have done it this way. They know that if the camera contents or the substance of the video are ever going to be obtained, it's going to be long after they're out of custody. And frankly, they were almost not obtained at all due to the extreme problems with the video technology that have existed at the prison. At this time I'm going to ask ADA Zakeosian to show you this brief section of video.
Certainly. And if I could just set this up for the Councilmembers. Good morning. It's very nice to speak to you about this, unfortunately under the circumstances that we're in. But the section that you see right here is what we call the bottom tier of the H-1 Unit at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center. The two cells that are in question are going to be immediately on your right. They're Cells No. 5 and 6. What you are then going to see after that is a view that goes the other direction and it's going to be going towards the correctional officer booth and what they call the auxiliary bubble that the District Attorney referred to that's that black glass panel that is back there where a single correctional officer looks towards three different units. The view that's going to follow after that is a larger view of the day room where you're going to be able to see not only the day room 13 area but also the area in which Mr. Hurst and Mr. Grant hid while awaiting a signal from Mr. Flores-Huerta where they were able to sneak out into the yard, which by the way has a wide open and unlocked door at that time. And then the last view that you'll see is the H-1 yard area where you'll be able to see these two inmates run across and get through the hole that the District Attorney previously showed you in that fence. So with that, I'm going to go ahead and just let this play without comment. (Video playing.) DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: All right. Well, that is the video itself. Obviously I just want to reiterate again my invitation to all relevant people in government to come to the office. We will accommodate you in every way, and every way. You want to come today, come on down. You want to come tomorrow, we will find a way. I don't care what the day is. I think there's an urgency that we all feel. And to the extent we can facilitate that, we certainly want to do it both before and after election day. Having said that, we are very happy to answer any questions to the extent we are able.
Well, thank you, Mr. District Attorney. There is to say the least a lot to unpack there. I see mechanical and personnel failures in tremendous proportions. We will take you up on the extended version of the review of photos, footage and other information that you are willing to share. I'd like to also extend that invitation to the current Administration but to the two proposed 100th Mayor candidates to attend that as well. Because at the end of the day, what we don't want to do, and I think you said it in the beginning, is to not learn from these mistakes. And I know at this point in time this Administration is working on a transition report. And if nothing else, these kinds of facts that were found on the mechanical end, on the personnel end need to be a part of a transition report so that the 100th Mayor stands on the shoulders of this Administration's corrective actions and needs assessments that have to, have to be done for the safety of those who we have in custody, for the safety of those professionals that work within the institution and for those people that are in the general public. That person's crime that was committed, one of them the homicides in my District. So I know up close and personal and you've been involved with this, how disconcerting that could be to potential witnesses to his case that that individual escaped and was gone for an extended period of time. So for the safety of the public, for the safety of professionals and for the safety of the inmates, we will take you up on that meeting and extend that invitation to those individuals seeking to be the next Mayor and inclusive of this Administration so that we give a warm handoff and corrective action steps that can ensue. I guess what I would thank you for is the extensive investigation that you've done, and I'm assuming that with that will come recommendations on how to -- I know that's not your wheelhouse. But I think based on your investigation there might be information that might be useful on how to take corrective steps. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Yes, sir, 100 percent. I can tell you that the Chief of our Special Investigations Unit Lyandra Retacco and Brett Zakeosian have dug in deep on this one. They have a lot of information. We have been given excellent access by Commissioner Carney here and we have had tremendous cooperation from the City to try to obtain this. We have also I should tell you consulted with a prison expert because we want to make sure that we understand what is possible in terms of improvement of this situation and we are more than happy to share everything we can in relation to that report.
So we're going to take you up on that. I'm going to find a date that is conducive for the majority of the members of this Committee to be a part of it and any other members and staffers from the Administration that would like to be a part of it, we will take you up on that, Mr. District Attorney. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Thank you, sir. Chairman, may I say this too, if you need to do it in a couple batches, we'll work with you, whatever we got to do. If you have to do it in three separate sessions, we will work with you to make sure that it can happen. It does have to happen at our office just for reasons related to the security of the items involved, just because electronic transmission of things that can't get out just yet is always unwise. But we are delighted to work with you on that. When I think about it, I know Commissioner Carney is on top of this. As we relate to particular malfeasance possibilities that she can't talk about because they're ongoing cases, I get that. But whenever there's communications within the prison phones and things like that, that puts everyone in danger in the community. And so, I'm certain that she's on top of that and she will share that offline possibly of what steps are being taken. But are there, Mr. Glass, any questions from members of the Committee?
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Councilmember Vaughn would like to be recognized.
Yes. Mr. DA, I want to thank you for your due diligence and getting just a little bit of the information out to us today. And you and I did discuss having this meeting further reviewed in a private setting. Commissioner, let us help you. It's obvious there are some serious malfunctions and things that need to be addressed in the Philadelphia prisons. Unfortunately, I will not be here for the next Administration. But please get with our Chairman on Public Safety, whoever it -- if it's Curtis or Councilman Jones or if it changes, get in their ear, ask them for the resources that you need to help you do your job better because there is nothing more important than keeping your team and our City safe at this point. Criminals have no respect as we can see for the rules and the laws that we try to live by. So I'm hoping that this Council body and the future one will give you in the next budget the resources that you need to make sure that your prisons are secure, that your staff is safe when they come to work, because I'm sure that's an issue as well. Some folks don't want to apply because they're afraid of the situations in the prisons. I thank you all for being a part of this hearing, and I pushed it because I wanted to get some information out as a follow-up for our first hearing. I did not know that the case was still ongoing. But as we discussed in the last hearing we would, you know, finalize it as soon as possible. I have less than a month in my position, but I want everyone to understand the urgency of making sure that your financial needs are met to keep your facility staffed as well as update your video camera system to make sure that things like this are caught in a timely fashion. If that means having a staff person watching daily -- and more importantly, I'm sure that the officer that came to work was probably getting some overtime and fatigued, so unfortunately he or she did fall asleep at the wheel allowing this to happen, but we don't want that to occur again if possible. We want to make sure you get the staff that you need and the resources that you need. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Member Vaughn. There's a saying that we spend 1 percent of our time worried about the mouse in our house. The mouse spends 99 percent of his time worrying about where we are. And it was obvious that they had paid particular attention to the comings and goings and ongoing operations of our professionals at the facility. We have to have redundant systems, whether it's technology, whether it's human capital constantly overlapping so that they are not as familiar with our systems as they have proven they are. So again, echoing Member Vaughn, let us help you and we are here for that. Mr. Glass, is there anyone else who wants to question the District Attorney?
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Councilman Harrity would like to be recognized.
Okay, Chairman. District Attorney Krasner, you said that the video was bad and the system doesn't work because it's not interacting the way it should. And in your opinion, just in general -- (Background interruption.)
The camera system for the prison, hearsay is it doesn't work the way it should be. What's your opinion for the City in general, the cameras that we have out on the street? Because there's a lot of cameras, but I don't necessarily know if they're working right or if they're being monitored right. What is your -- because you get to look at these videos while you're doing your cases probably more than anybody, what's your opinion of the video system in general that we're using? DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Thank you for the question, Councilmember. Always good to see you. First of all, my opinion is that the camera system that SEPTA has is excellent and in many ways I think should be regarded at least in Philadelphia as the gold standard for how much good can be done when you have cameras that are not only up-to- date and monitored and recoverable but you have them in many, many different locations. I cannot tell you the number of homicide cases we have where it's actually a camera that's on a bus and the camera happens to drive by a regular stop and there happens to be people walking down the street in distinctive clothing shortly before a shooting occurs. You may not even have the shooting on video, but that kind of high definition video is absolutely crucial. I could explain to you other cases where the forensic unit at a crime scene has been able to go and take a palm print off of a piece of steel because the high definition camera was so good that it could show this unknown killer sticking his hand down on a particular bench and that enabled people to come behind him. So the good news is if we look, for example, at the SEPTA system, it's up-to-date, it's high definition, it's excellent, it does a lot of good. And whenever we hear SEPTA video, we're always optimistic. The not-as-good news is that there certainly are a significant number of cameras in Philadelphia, and I don't think it's just Philadelphia, but there's a significant number of other cameras that either are not functioning or they are functioning in a way so that they sweep from one side to another and the timing of the sweep is not particularly helpful or the visibility is blocked by sunglare or the definition is so grainy that, yes, you can see the silhouette of a small person on the screen approaching another person, you can see a crooked arm coming out, you can see the other person falling down. But in terms of being able to see the things that PPD needs to investigate such as rust on the fender of a car or the license plate number or the distinctive markings on a pair of sweatpants or the type of shoes, in terms of that the camera fails us. It's absolutely better than nothing, but it ain't perfect. I will finally say that I'm a huge believer that investment in technology, forensic technology including camera technology is extremely important. We do want to catch people who commit terrible crimes. We do not want to put innocent people in jail in their place. I think it's extremely important, it's been something that we have emphasized. But I also want you to know that as an aspect of our Gun Violence Task Force statewide grant, we have been able to obtain some new cameras which we collaborate in working around those cameras with the DVIC and with the Philadelphia Police Department. I believe that the Police Department wants to be a solid partner and collaborate. I believe they want better high definition cameras. I believe if we can find the money, and obviously money is always an issue, but if we can find money it is essential and urgent at the prisons. It is also important in general in Philadelphia.
Thank you for that. That was good. Thank you so much. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Thank you, Councilmember.
Thank you, Member Harrity. On the camera aspect, one of the failures obviously within that technology, that those motion detectors should be synchronized to an alert that kind of goes off in particular when there are spaces where there should not be unauthorized movement. And so, that syncing of a camera, motion detector and alarm has to be assessed. Those are things that we can kind of drill down on and work on. And I'm not an expert on that technology, but I've got to believe increasing those kinds of redundancies will help. The other thing is that couldn't we have cameras that have secondary -- within the facility, Commissioner, secondary viewers so that if, in fact, someone failed or fell asleep or whatever, had to go to the restroom, there's a second set of eyes in what is called the route for the cameras to be able to kick in to be a second kind of fail-safe on viewing those cameras; is that possible? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: The technology that's available that we're looking at, we need a centralized camera system that where every camera there's motion sensor technology. We're close to implement -- well, entering into a contract for radiofrequency ID armbands for the population that will allow us through that armband in realtime identify where folks are. So definitely a centralized camera, we will need 24-hour dedicated staff to do just that, motion detectors. In addition to your uniform staff, all of these technologies we're going to be working with Public Property -- excuse me, Capital Projects to get this underway. Our camera infrastructure is over 25-plus years old. It doesn't give us the realtime capability to pull videos. It was extensive hours taken to pull that video. We worked hand-in-hand with the District Attorney's Office to provide it, but it was a painstaking process. And when I say painstaking process, the clock was ticking. So we definitely will have to have an overall, you'll have to have cloud-based space dedicated infrastructure to maintain just volumes of video that is recorded. So there are so many things that we're looking at, but the goal here is you have to integrate your system, have 24-hour monitoring and use the technology that's available. So we're working on that now. Of course hindsight is 2020. We were working on that. The RFID, we're closer than we have been. And that process that I want in place is that will help with a count's accountability. So if you have this armband on, I should see that Jones if there is an incident, you were in the vicinity coupled with the video that you can laser in. The antiquated is you give the fish bowl and it's there, but there's technology where you can laser in and look at the serial number on the dollar bill. And so, we have some of that newer technologies at RCF and CFCF, but it has to be system-wide. So we'll be working to integrate our camera unified system.
I'm glad to hear that. I don't want to go in and take too deep a dive into one aspect of it. We need to have a longer conversation and meetings about it. But one I'll take of the parking garages actually now utilize a camera system where individuals aren't even on premises. They're in different parts of the City or even not in the City at all and they're utilizing veterans, disabled veterans to be able to monitor those cameras in a way that is a force multiplier for the boots on the ground within your facility, but that's just a discussion for another day. Mr. Glass, are there any other members who want to ask questions?
Mr. Chairman, I don't see any more members wishing to be recognized in the chat or have their hand raised.
Yes, I am. I am very satisfied with the information that we got from the District Attorney as well as the Commissioner. And I just want to reiterate again that this was not a witch hunt. This was basically a way for us to see how we can make things better within the system as well as, like I said earlier, help the Commissioner make those facilities more secure and just get an explanation of how it happened. And it's obvious that things are severely outdated and that major resources are going to be needed in order to correct these problems, and I like the idea that you made about maybe increasing the incentive for people to take those jobs and I strongly believe once we get a system or update the technology, that more people will feel interested or show interest in taking these jobs because they will feel safer when they report to work. No one wants to go anywhere where there's a possibility that they may not return home. We all just want to make a living so that we can get back to our families and loved ones. I thank you all for taking the time. I thank all my other Council colleagues for being on this hearing, and I hope you all take us up on going to the DA's Office and seeing all the footage that he has to offer us so that we can gain knowledge and so that you all can do your jobs better in helping Commissioner Carney get what she needs in order to make the necessary changes. Thank you everyone.
Thank you, Member Vaughn. Mr. Glass, who is the next -- do we have any other panels to testify?
Yep, got it. This is just an in-general question. Since us on Council, we're looking at different ways that maybe we could help with the law enforcement, just would like to have your opinions on drones, both you in fighting crime or in monitoring the prison? COMMISSIONER CARNEY: So we would work with PPD. Drones are another tool that we can utilize to hover over our 25-acre campus. Anywhere there's a camera, a PPD camera, that would help to have that drone and that is a good detection and it would have infrared technology, movement. If it's moving, it should pick it up. So we would look forward to working with PP -- PPD, all these acronyms, on that. So open to that as well, and that'll help again if we're working as a City to combat this, that we're not a standalone department, it really does go a long way. So, yes, we're open to that and very helpful for that tool. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Simply put, yes, facts are good, truth is good, science is good, getting it right is good. Whether that particular solution is the best one for the prisons, I would defer to the experts, but it certainly might be. And I would also say that as I mentioned before we have engaged an expert to take a look and to inform us, because let's be honest it's not our area of expertise, and we will be happy to share that in private session as well.
I thank you for that and I'm looking at it too, because I know there's been some problems with it in places where they already have it, like Seattle and California and New York with some lawsuits over privacy issues. You know, I think if it was done right it would be a help. But I do think we also have to worry about whose rights we're violating with the drones. But in the prisons, you know, I believe that that would probably be a help there. I'm still looking at how. And that's why I want your opinions still looking at how it would be as an actual policing tool, so thank you. DISTRICT ATTORNEY KRASNER: Yeah. Councilmember, just one final comment. Obviously, under the law the privacy concerns are much less at a prison and a jail as they would be in a residential neighborhood, so that's something we can certainly discuss further.
Thank you, Member Harrity. With that being said, thank you for your testimony. It was enlightening. And it illustrates, you know, when you go to the doctor's office, you get an examination. You know, there's a degree of uncomfortableness when you get the examination, but that's all a part of assessing what's wrong so that you can get better and we can get better so that's what we're doing. And with that, thank you for your testimony. Appreciate you. Mr. Glass, do we have any others to testify?
Mr. Chairman, we have no more panels to testify. We are ready to move into public comment.
Mr. Chairman, our first witness or individual for public comment is Kate Mackey.
Ms. Mackey, are you there? COUNCIL TECH SUPPORT: She's being called in now.
Thank you, Committee. I serve as a staff representative for Local 2187 comprising social workers, psychologists, education and administrative staff at the Department of Prisons. Our dedicated team is committed to facilitating positive change and providing essential support to the individuals under our care. Witnessing daily transformations, we firmly believe in the possibility of rehabilitation and improvement. However, the current staffing crisis has significantly impacted our ability to provide services to incarcerated individuals. This not only affects our clients but also has wider implications for the entire City. The presence of (inaudible) staff in critical situations within the prisons has historically fostered a sense of stability. Regrettably due to the current situation our capacity to deliver essential services has been compromised. We rely heavily on sufficient security staffing for members of Local 159 to ensure the seamless execution of our responsibilities. In the absence of adequate security staffing levels, court-mandated services, crisis counseling and educational programs are at risk of disruption. The consequences of the security staffing crisis has been publicly acknowledged, but there is also a staffing crisis in regards to treatment staff. In 2011 there were approximately 100 social workers catering to the incarcerated population. Today this number has dwindled to a near 40. There are only three psychologists providing services to the incarcerated population on State Road. The failure to fill these crucial vacancies directly affects the individuals awaiting substance abuse programs, court-mandated violence prevention initiatives and GED preparation courses. Members of Local 2187 are resolute in their daily efforts to facilitate the successful reintegration of incarcerated persons into society as productive citizens of the City of Philadelphia. Our services play a pivotal role in reducing recidivism rates, enhancing public safety, reuniting families and empowering clients to pursue their aspirations. I earnestly implore the esteemed Councilmembers to address the persistent issues within the Department of Prisons, particularly the ongoing staffing crisis that significantly impacts one of the City's most vulnerable populations. Thank you for hearing my testimony today and I hope for your continued support and dedication to the well- being of our community.
Thank you so much for your testimony and thank you for what you do for those who are incarcerated and those who will be released and integrated back into society. We do appreciate your work.
Mr. Glass, do any of the Committee members have questions?
Mr. Chairman, I don't see anyone in the chat or with their hand raised for questions, and Ms. Mackey was our final witness for public comment.
No. I'm very pleased with the result of this hearing today and looking forward to assisting the Commissioner in every way possible, and I will definitely encourage my colleagues to follow suit. Thank you very much.
And thank you, Member Vaughn, for staying on top of this issue. And once we started peeling the layers of the onion it went deep, so thank you for that. With that being said, this concludes the Committee on Public Safety and we will continue at the call of the Chair. Thank you all for your testimony. COMMISSIONER CARNEY: Thank you, Councilman.
You as well. (Hearing concluded at 11:28 a.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. __________________________________ TANEHA CARROLL