State Correctional Institution - Graterford
Encyclopedia
The Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Graterford, also known variously as SCI Graterford (SCIG), Eastern Correctional Institution, Graterford Prison, Graterford Penitentiary, and the Graterford Prison Farm, is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
prison located in Skippack Township
, Montgomery County
, Pennsylvania
, United States
, near Graterford
. The prison, located on Graterford Road off of Pennsylvania Route 113
, is about 31 miles (49.9 km) west of the city of Philadelphia
.
, holding about 3,500 prisoners. The grounds include an extensive prison farm
on 1730 acres (7 km²); the 62 acres (250,905.3 m²) prison compound itself lies within 30 feet (9.1 m) high walls surmounted by nine manned towers. An $80 million construction program completed in 1989 added a new administration building, a 28-bed infirmary, and 372 additional cells.
As recently as 1978 the prison held only about 1,600 prisoners in 2,000 available cells distributed among five major cellblocks of 400 cells each. The five major cellblocks were supplemented by about 40 cells in a security unit known as BAU (Behavior Adjustment Unit) or RHU (Restricted Housing Unit); this unit included a special death row section (though executions were never carried out at this prison). The original 1929 plan for the facility included eight major cellblocks of 400 cells each, or 3,200 individual cells. An engraving of this plan is found on a brass plaque just inside the facility's double-gated airlock-type main entrance.
The prison's two current Restricted Housing Units (RHU) are essentially prisons within a prison and house over 300 prisoners — about 10 percent of the total prison population - who are allowed one hour a day for exercise, remaining confined to their cells the other 23, where they receive three meals a day and are permitted shower visits. The prisoners in RHU are allowed only one visitor per month. SCI-Graterford has an 18-bed Mental Health Unit contracted to MHM Services
to facilitate a mental health program.
SCI-Graterford Industries provides work and economic activity within the prison, including a garment factory, undergarment factory, shoe factory, weave plant, hosiery factory, carton factory, and a mail distribution center. Prison factories and industries employ 21 civilian staff, 315 inmate staff, and in 2003-2004 generated revenues of $4,450,940.01. The prison also conducts farming operations and educational programs.
A expansion is planned for Graterford Prison in 2011 to 2012 pending legal dispute.
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is the Pennsylvania state agency that is responsible for the confinement, care and rehabilitation of approximately 51,000 inmates at state correctional facilities funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
prison located in Skippack Township
Skippack Township, Pennsylvania
Skippack Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,715 at the 2010 census. This represents a 110.5% increase from the 2000 count of 6,516 residents.-Geography:...
, Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, near Graterford
Graterford, Pennsylvania
Graterford is in Perkiomen Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.Founded in 1756 by Jacob Kreator, a textile weaver, Graterford was originally named Grater's Ford until abbreviated to Graterford by the postal service in the mid 1950s...
. The prison, located on Graterford Road off of Pennsylvania Route 113
Pennsylvania Route 113
Pennsylvania Route 113 is a long state route in eastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 30 Business in Downingtown. Its northern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 611 in Tinicum Township...
, is about 31 miles (49.9 km) west of the city of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
History
The facility, built in 1929, is Pennsylvania's largest maximum-security prisonPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, holding about 3,500 prisoners. The grounds include an extensive prison farm
Prison farm
A prison farm is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are put to economical use in a 'farm' , usually for manual labour, largely in open air, such as in agriculture, logging, quarrying, etc...
on 1730 acres (7 km²); the 62 acres (250,905.3 m²) prison compound itself lies within 30 feet (9.1 m) high walls surmounted by nine manned towers. An $80 million construction program completed in 1989 added a new administration building, a 28-bed infirmary, and 372 additional cells.
As recently as 1978 the prison held only about 1,600 prisoners in 2,000 available cells distributed among five major cellblocks of 400 cells each. The five major cellblocks were supplemented by about 40 cells in a security unit known as BAU (Behavior Adjustment Unit) or RHU (Restricted Housing Unit); this unit included a special death row section (though executions were never carried out at this prison). The original 1929 plan for the facility included eight major cellblocks of 400 cells each, or 3,200 individual cells. An engraving of this plan is found on a brass plaque just inside the facility's double-gated airlock-type main entrance.
The prison's two current Restricted Housing Units (RHU) are essentially prisons within a prison and house over 300 prisoners — about 10 percent of the total prison population - who are allowed one hour a day for exercise, remaining confined to their cells the other 23, where they receive three meals a day and are permitted shower visits. The prisoners in RHU are allowed only one visitor per month. SCI-Graterford has an 18-bed Mental Health Unit contracted to MHM Services
MHM Services
MHM Services, Inc. is a privately held mental health services provider in Tysons Corner, VA. The company's principal customers are state and local governments.MHM employs over 2,000 clinical, management, and support staff nationwide...
to facilitate a mental health program.
SCI-Graterford Industries provides work and economic activity within the prison, including a garment factory, undergarment factory, shoe factory, weave plant, hosiery factory, carton factory, and a mail distribution center. Prison factories and industries employ 21 civilian staff, 315 inmate staff, and in 2003-2004 generated revenues of $4,450,940.01. The prison also conducts farming operations and educational programs.
Future
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania plans to close Graterford after construction of two new prisons nearby is completed.A expansion is planned for Graterford Prison in 2011 to 2012 pending legal dispute.
See also
External links
- SCI Graterford - Pennsylvania Department of CorrectionsPennsylvania Department of CorrectionsThe Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is the Pennsylvania state agency that is responsible for the confinement, care and rehabilitation of approximately 51,000 inmates at state correctional facilities funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
- PA Dept of Corrections Web site
- interactive aerial perspective photograph