Nov 28, 2002 By Amy Karpinsky 6 min read

Come mid January, inmates in the Fayette County Prison will no longer have the option of taking a smoke break throughout the day. The Fayette County Prison Board voted Wednesday to institute a tobacco-free policy for the Fayette County Prison for inmates and employees to take effect after the first of the year. The action was taken following a recommendation from Warden Larry Medlock, who cited problems in the newly constructed minimum-security annex. He said the policy will take effect after the holidays and the first of the year, or sometime around Jan. 15.

The policy will include the entire institution, including both the old stone facility and the new annex. The only exception is an outside covered porch off of the break room that employees can access.

Medlock said cigarettes have been hidden all over the annex, and inmates are breaking things, such as electrical boxes, to hide the cigarettes. He added that the facility is difficult to keep clean and there is a safety factor. Sheriff Gary Brownfield said there is also a fire hazard.

Although the annex is a smoke-free facility, inmates are permitted to smoke outside in the exercise yard during breaks. However, Medlock said there have been incidents of inmates smoking in bed and under covers in the annex as well as in the restrooms.

Medlock said inmates who are in the annex are now defying employees by asking to be sent back to the old prison where they can smoke. Smoking is permitted in the old facility.

Regarding limiting the privileges of employees, Medlock said he has discussed the issue with employees and many are in favor if the idea. He said the employees can use the outside covered porch that is connected to the break room. He said pockets have already been taken off of “uniforms” as a way to prevent inmates from carrying items such as cigarettes or snuff.

In response to a question from county controller Mark Roberts about the effects of people with a pack a day habit quitting cold turkey, Medlock said the prison doctor can prescribe nicotine patches at the inmates’ own expense, but gum is not permitted. “It’s going to be a job at first,” Medlock said. But he added that the time for it has come.

Regarding contraband, Medlock said a homemade bottle of wine was recently discovered in the annex. He said it was the “worst thing you ever smelled in your life.” He said inmates use raisins, fruit, sugar or bread to make wine and put it in a jug used for disinfectant. Brownfield said inmates are very resourceful.

Although security cameras watch the annex, Medlock said it is “almost impossible to catch everything.”

Despite earlier assertions that the prison population should decrease as the year goes on, Medlock announced that for the second month in a row, the county had the highest prison population average ever at 248 inmates. He said the trend is really unusual because the number of inmates started out low and continues to grow. Last month, the average was 245 inmates. Medlock said the population is at a 4 percent decrease over last year, but that number is increasing.

On a positive note, Medlock said as of Wednesday morning, the population was down to 229, which was a drop from 249 inmates just three days before. He said loved ones want family members home for the Thanksgiving holiday. He added that usually in December the population drops. “I’m hoping that occurs this year,” he said.

Although the annex ended up costing more than $1 million, it was noted that the cost of $33 to house an inmate in the county is cheaper than renting cells outside of the county. Medlock said the county would have 62 inmates out of the county if they didn’t have the annex.

Medlock said the county has been lucky to pay between $40 and $45 per day to house inmates out of the county. He said some places, such as Cambria County, charge $65 per day.

Brownfield pointed out that the county is saving more than $5,200 per month or $62,500 per year by having the annex. “We’re definitely saving money,” Brownfield said.

Medlock said a new problem is that the female population continues to rise. The number stood at 36 last week, and only 22 can be accommodated. He said another room that is normally used for weekend inmates is being used. Also, three inmates are housed out of the county in rented cells. An additional four female inmates are in Washington County as part of an agreement in which a Washington County male is being housed in Fayette County.

Medlock said the number of female inmates rose from 13 to 45 earlier this year. In anticipation of future problems, commission chairman Vincent A. Vicites said the county will have to budget for cell rental for 2003 as well as plan for an area for female prisoners in the long range prison expansion plans.

District Attorney Nancy Vernon said that the county needs to find alternatives for incarceration for parole violators. She suggested looking into establishing a halfway house for alcoholics and parole violations.

She said handling a fourth DUI arrest used to be a rarity, not any more. She feels those people need some other form of punishment. “I think it’s time to seriously consider bidding out a halfway house,” Vernon said.

Judge John F. Wagner Jr. said the problem is that after people serve six to eight months for drug violations, they go back into the same environment where they were committing the crime before they were arrested. “It’s a cycle. You used to hear about the public assistance cycle, but now there is a drug and alcohol cycle,” he said.

While most of the board members agreed with the need for a halfway house, how to pay for it was a concern. Vernon said it could be a combination of money from the county, grants and private funds, as well as letting people pay for their keep.

The prison board then approved a motion to establish a task force composed of prison board members as well as others from the court system, mental health workers, drug and alcohol workers and others to analyze the situation and come up with the best solution.

Wagner noted that in September, 37 people were accepted in the intermediate punishment program, the same number as all of 2001

“There is no court conspiracy to filling the jail,” he said.

In personnel action, the board hired William Strenske of Fayette County as a part-time corrections officer.