A Rare Look Inside the Walls of SCI-Albion
The State Correctional Institution at Albion is now 25 years old. Administrators are marking the occasion by inviting the media inside the prison walls. Erie News Now today had rare access to nearly all of the facility.
If you take away the barbed wire, and the outfits that say "DOC" on them, first time visitors might get the impression they were on a college campus instead of a state prison. Inmates are walking without escort, but they are under watchful eyes of guards and security cameras.
"It's a good sized facility and a lot of movement in there. So it is an eye opener, I think, to many people when they come in," says Superintendent Michael Clark.
The prisoners, not unlike college students, are most likely heading to a class. At SCI-Albion, prisoners can learn construction skills.. everything they need to know to build a house. They can learn business skills such as typing, data entry, and certification in Microsoft products.
They also have jobs inside the prison. In the dietary department, 7,000 meals are cooked, and served, each day. In the commissary and warehouse, prisoners can learn to operate a forklift.
"The goal for any of us in corrections would be that they leave here and don't return. We know one of the ways to insure that is that they leave here with some skills that they could get gainful employment," Clark said.
There are various housing units at SCI-Albion. For example, those who work in dietary live in the same building. Prisoners with drug, alcohol, or mental health issues are housed in a single unit. Good behavior inmates, that will be released within five years, are housed together to learn transitional skills. The best- behaved prisoners will live together in a dorm, with privileges like a exercise equipment, and a pop machine. Other prisoners will live in a cramped room with only two bunks.
There's fights and lockdowns every once in awhile, but most prisoners just want to peacefully serve their time.
"They certainly outnumber staff at any given time, but these guys. by and large, are focused on getting home and rehabilitating themselves, so they can get out of here at some point," says Clark.
The State Correctional Institution at Albion has 2,270 inmates at the present time. It has 550 employees. There's been only one escape, back in 2007.