Mayor Jim Kenney Announces Oldest Operating Jail In Philly Closing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — Mayor Jim Kenney has announced plans to close the oldest operating jail in Philadelphia, as part of his plan to reform the justice system.
The mayor and prisons commissioner said Wednesday that the House of Corrections is to be closed by 2020.
"This is issue of racism in our country, in our city needs to be addressed and needs to be faced; it needs to be talked about; it needs to be changed," Mayor Jim Kenney said. "And this is one of the elements of us trying to do that."
A spokeswoman said efforts have begun to reduce the population of the jail, which has only about 220 inmates, and that process may be completed as soon as this fall.
The prison department's website says the original House of Correction opened in 1874 but was razed in 1925, but materials from the original were used in construction of the current building, which opened in 1927. There are 666 cells for minimum- to medium-security inmates.
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Officials said the closure is possible because the overall incarcerated population has been reduced by 32 percent since July 2015.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
