Perimeter guards absent as 2 men escaped Philadelphia prison
Source: Associated Press
Perimeter guards absent as 2 men escaped Philadelphia prison
By CLAUDIA LAUER
May 9, 2023
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — There were no corrections officers assigned specifically to watch the housing unit of a Philadelphia prison when two inmates escaped Sunday night, and no armed perimeter guards were on duty as the men broke through the prison’s fence, a correctional officers union official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Days later, authorities are still searching for the two men — including one who is facing charges in four murders. The men were gone for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.
The city’s prison department is so understaffed that they have not had the armed perimeter guards on duty during that specific nighttime shift for eight or nine months, said David Robinson, president of the public service employees union’s District 33 Council that represents the correctional officers.
When the prison is fully staffed, two corrections officers would be assigned to each housing unit. But with recent staffing shortages, the prison has regularly only had one officer assigned to housing units. When other officers don’t report to work, or the prison reaches critically low staffing levels, one officer might be assigned to monitor multiple units, Robinson said. That’s what happened the night the men escaped, he said.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-prison-escape-inmates-missing-b27231abb0254c0d2a6b03bcebe10f38