Update

We congratulate Mayor Cherelle Parker for selecting Michael Resnick as the new commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. 

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"Mike has demonstrated the judgment, will, and experience necessary to confront the humanitarian crisis in the Philadelphia jails," says Claire Shubik-Richards, the Prison Society’s executive director.

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Claire participated in the subject matter expert panel that screened candidates for the Parker Administration. We are grateful to the mayor for including the Prison Society in these important deliberations. In appointing Resnick, Mayor Parker has heeded our call to hire a new prisons commissioner with a bold, actionable plan to address the crisis in the city’s jails, as Claire wrote in a joint Inquirer op-ed with Tom Innes of the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

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Resnick comes to the role after serving the state of Maryland in a role where he oversaw the Baltimore city jails. Previously, he served as acting commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons in 2016, during a time when the city was working to reduce unnecessary incarceration and overcrowding in the jails. Most recently, as the Manager of the Delaware County Office of Community Justice and Rehabilitation, he has helped lead the successful transition of the Delaware County jail from private to public control.

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Resnick has committed to taking action to increase staffing in the jails, where 46% of corrections officer positions are vacant, while also working with other justice system actors and city agencies to reduce the jail population. This is consistent with the approach the Prison Society has been advocating for the past three years.

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“It’s daunting, but it’s doable,” Resnick said. “I am cognizant of the issues facing the department, and the challenges that lie ahead.”

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As always, the Prison Society stands ready to assist other counties with searches for qualified correctional leadership.