Update

Philadelphia's new mayor, Cherelle Parker, came into office on a mission to tackle the public safety crisis in the streets. But her action plan for the first 100 days failed to even mention what is arguably the most violent part of the city: its jails.

In a new op-ed published this week in The Philadelphia Inquirer, our executive director, Claire Shubik-Richards, and Tom Innes, director of prison advocacy for the Defender Association of Philadelphia and former Prison Society board president, explain why the safety crisis in the city’s jails matters to all Philadelphians, not just those within their walls.

During the first month of Mayor Parker’s term alone, one incarcerated person was murdered and at least three were hospitalized for injuries after fights broke out.

Claire and Tom write: “If we are to bring back respect for the rule of law, can we allow this barbaric reality to be the status quo in what is supposed to be our most heavily supervised and secure environment?”

They offer three steps that Parker can take to begin addressing the public safety crisis behind bars. First, hire a new prisons commissioner with a bold, actionable plan to increase staffing and reduce the jail population. Second, support legislation in City Council that would start the process to create a new jail oversight board with real teeth. Third, work with justice system stakeholders to reduce the jail population by at least 500, so that the city can reduce its use of the decrepit Detention Center.

Read the whole op-ed here.