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By ANTHONY COLAROSSI; Times Leader Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 1995     Page: 1A

WILKES-BARRE — Whether they like it or not, more prisoners at the Luzerne
County Correctional Facility are getting roommates.
   
The Water Street prison had been short by about 20 beds for most of the
summer. So Warden Gene Fischi decided to have prison maintenance workers
construct bunk beds and convert about 97 of the prison’s 255 cells into
double-occupancy units.
    About 100 cells were turned into doubles in the same fashion three years
ago, Fischi said. With the current project, the double cells will allow the
prison to increase its capacity from 355 beds to about 452.
   
Fischi and county Commissioners Frank Crossin and Jim Phillips agreed the
project will address future overpopulation problems in a relatively
inexpensive way.
   
The cost of the bunk project is about $85 a bed or $8,245 for all 97,
Fischi said. The project cost, which consists only of supplies, is being
absorbed by the prison’s $8.1 million budget, he said. The beds are made by
welding metal canopies above existing beds.
   
Crossin and Phillips both sit on the Luzerne County Prison Board. Fischi
said he consulted with board members before moving ahead with the project.
   
Crossin said the federal government often seeks prison space at county
facilities and pays to have its prisoners housed. That possible revenue source
will be considered, he said.
   
Three years ago Luzerne County paid $250,000 to have 30 of its inmates
housed in prisons in other counties because of a lack of space, Fischi said.
   
He attributes this year’s population problem to stiffer state parole
guidelines and a Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas’ summer backlog.
   
About 40 of the 97 new bunks are already welded and bolted to the cell
walls, Fischi said.
   
Materials are being provided by Bloomsburg Metal and the welding work is
expected to be finished by late October, Fischi said.
   
Each 70-square-foot cell contains a toilet, a desk and a chair in addition
to the bed frame. The bed frames are twin-sized.
   
Prisoners are locked in their cells from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., Fischi said.
   
A state Corrections Department inspector approved the project and said it
met state guidelines, Fischi said. The inspector, Chester Weaver, was not
available for comment Tuesday.
   
The male prison population is 342. About 75 of those male prisoners have
single cells, Fischi said.
   
The female prison population is 33. Before the summer, the prison only had
space for 22 women. But with the new bunk beds, 22 women are doubled up and 11
are still in singles.
   
About 50 cells will remain singles for prisoners on suicide watch or
inmates subject to solitary confinement, Fischi said.
   
When asked about the possibility of some prisoners not liking the idea of
having to share their cells, Crossin said, “I don’t believe that a (prison)
facility should be a Holiday Inn.”
   
Crossin said inmates’ civil rights should be respected and added that the
double-occupancy program does not infringe on those rights.
   
Fischi said he has not heard complaints from inmates about the plan. He
said the prisoners are allowed to choose their roommates.
   
The double occupancy system helps prison guards count prisoners and
provides more security, Fischi said. When the prison is overcrowded, some
inmates must sleep in large day rooms. Although the day rooms are locked, it
is harder to monitor the prisoners in the larger areas, Fischi said.