Westmoreland prison population surge expected to be temporary

Warden John Walton said the inmate population at the county prison spiked during the last month, but the numbers of those incarcerated are expected to dip before year’s end.

Walton told members of the prison board the Hempfield facility housed 677 inmates on Monday, bringing its population closer to capacity than it has been in months. The prison can house up to 711 inmates before it is considered overcrowded, the warden said.

“August through October is usually the big months for us, but we expect more releases as the holiday season approaches,” Walton said.

The population averaged 665 inmates in September, a 3.7% increase from 2018. Walton said over the last month, the prison saw the number of inmates increase as fewer people were released from custody.

Despite the current surge, inmate population overall is down in 2019. For the year, the prison averaged 631 inmates daily, compared to 647 in 2018.

“We’re getting a lot of people in on drug charges who cannot make bail,” Walton said.

The number of female inmates also is on the rise.

Walton said the female unit was overcrowded last week with 117 prisoners, a situation that lasted about four days and required as many as 15 inmates to sleep on cots in the facility’s exercise area. By Monday, the cots were no longer needed as just 102 women were incarcerated, he said.

“Last week was as bad as it gets,” Walton said.

He said there are no plans to make any permanent changes to allow for more female inmates.