A coalition of local activist organizations is hosting a community forum next week on Lancaster County’s plans for its new correctional institution.
“Truth & Justice: Racial Equity & the $400 Million Jail” will take place from 6 to 8 pm. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Bright Side Opportunities Center, 515 Hershey Ave., Lancaster.
The event is presented by YWCA Lancaster’s Racial Equity Profile Action Team and co-sponsored by the Lancaster Bail Fund, Power Interfaith, the Lancaster Bail Reform Coalition.
The groups have argued consistently that the county is planning too large and too expensive a facility. A majority of the individuals held at the County Prison now are there on charges that have not been adjudicated; local advocates say many could safely be released, allowing them to keep their jobs and maintain family and community ties.
“Let’s build a future rooted in justice, not incarceration,” the forum’s description says.
County officials have cautioned against basing the planned bed count on potential policy changes. They say the correctional facility must serve for decades, that it is the court system that makes decisions on detention and incarceration, and that while overbuilding is a risk, so is underbuilding.
The correctional facility is to be built in Lancaster Township near the county’s Central Park. In August, the county released a draft schematic design (available here) that provides for 994 beds. It includes a preliminary cost estimate of $890 to $940 per square foot, which works out to a total project cost $385 million to $407 million.
The Sept. 24 forum is free and open to all. Childcare and Spanish interpretation are available, and dinner will be provided.
(Editor’s Note: This post was updated Sept. 24 to correct the list of organizations hosting and co-sponsoring the forum.)
