2880 Flower Rd. Erie, PA. 16509 |
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(814) 451-7920 |
Avoiding False Alarms
ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY/911 |
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MISSION |
The mission of the department of public safety is to provide, maintain, improve and upgrade 911 emergency call taking and dispatch services in Erie County by utilizing the most modern equipment and technology available. It is also the mandate of the department to advocate for all public safety agencies in the County relative to areas of concern, to include, but not limited to categories such as training, equipment, emergency procedures, facilities, and corrections procedures. Finally, it is imperative that the department provide comprehensive emergency management and Hazmat services to ensure the safety of the public, funding of equipment, and coordination of Federal, State, and Municipal disaster prevention and response. |
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RESPONSIBILITIES AND SERVICES |
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TRENDS IN USE OF SERVICES |
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GOALS |
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Public Safety in Erie County Prison, PAErie County Prison, PA, is a medium-security level county jail located on 1618 Ash Street, Erie, PA, 16503-2168. The facility houses adults awaiting trials in the justice system or those incarcerated for smaller crimes with sentences below three years. Inmates incarcerated for violent crimes such as murder are only held here temporarily before transferring to other facilities. The facility has about 726 male and female inmates. Its mission is to house inmates in a secure environment and uphold all the stakeholders’ safety. Educational ProgramsErie County Prison offers inmates educational programs to better their lives after they are released from confinement. These skills not only make the inmates better-placed individuals in society but also gives them an edge in securing employment. Consequently, post-release recidivism is reduced significantly. Some of the educational programs offered in this facility include GED and life skills. Employment preparation is also an essential aspect of these programs. It arms inmates with employment skills such as how to look for jobs and job readiness. Work ProgramsThe facility also offers work programs to arm inmates with skills that they can employ when released. Such programs include vocational education such as institutional maintenance, construction, and HVAC, among others. While these programs help reduce idleness and maintain orderliness in the facility, they also give inmates essential skills. Consequently, when they are released, they have somewhere to begin life in the society. This helps to reduce cases of recidivism. Counseling ProgramsMany crimes in Erie County are motivated by underlying psychological problems, some of which the offenders cannot avoid. Consequently, public safety will always be compromised when such inmates are released back into society. Cases of recidivism involving offenders with psychological issues are always high all across the United States. To counter such, correctional facilities in Erie County, including Erie County Prison, have counseling programs to attend to such inmates. This includes offenders suffering from alcohol and drug abuse. Research across the States established that almost half of the arrested offenders are always on drugs before their arrests. The rolled out programs include: Religion-based CounselingErie County Prison, like other correctional facilities, also employs faith-based programs to appeal to inmates to forfeit their crime lives. Through the facility's chaplain and religious volunteer groups, inmates are encouraged to sign up for bible study, peer mentors, worship services, prayers, and meditation sessions. Such uphold the general public's safety when offenders turn over a new leaf. Cases of recidivism reduce significantly. Community-Based TreatmentThe community also participates actively in upholding public safety by working hand in hand with the prison authorities to roll out helpful programs for inmates. These programs help to monitor released offenders and ensure they do not fall back to their old ways. Among the community-based treatment employed by Erie County Prison alongside the community include: Parole/ Mandatory Supervised ReleaseReleased inmates from Erie County Prison are assigned parole officers to supervise them over an agreed period over which their suitability for blending with the community is assessed. The parole officers further help the offenders overcome the allure of crime, get a job, and generally become good citizens. They can also sign them up for the community-based counseling programs rolled out by non-profit entities and community-based agencies. Community-Based Counseling ProgramsErie County Prison also encourages their released inmates to sign up for community-based programs that may help them recover fully from their crime lives. The community, through non-profit organizations and state agencies, organize beneficial programs such: family counseling,
Importance of Correctional Programs to Public SafetyCorrectional programs play an important role in not only reshaping the lives of released offenders but also upholding public safety. According to a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics back in 2018, about five in six prisoners released from prisons across 30 states in the USA in 2005 were rearrested at least once over a period of nine years after being released. Even worse, about 82% of offenders arrested in Erie County in 2016 had had raffles with the County’s jail system. This stresses the importance of correctional programs not only in Erie County Prison but also in other correctional facilities across the country.
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