About 500 people attended a public hearing hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Tuesday night in Bellefonte on the proposed closure of SCI Rockview.
About 50 community members and government officials testified against the closing of the facility, speaking to a panel of Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Representatives, including Secretary Laurel Harry.
The Pennsylvania DOC announced on February 10th it was proposing the closure of Rockview as well as Quehanna Boot Camp.
If the state closes Rockview, approximately 658 staff members will be reassigned to other SCI facilities within 67 miles, and many speakers expressed concerns about long commutes. John Eckenrode, President of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, said some workers may be placed at SCI Benner, which is about a mile from Rockview, but many will lose time with loved ones.
“You’re taking a toll on the family, possibly. Some of these people are gonna be able to walk across the parking lot and that’s great. Very few," Eckenrode said. "The rest of them are gonna get dispersed throughout this 67-mile radius bubble and their daily commute is gonna increase."
Suzy Tubbs is the wife of a corrections officer at Rockview who also spoke Tuesday night. She asked all Rockview employees and family members to stand up during her speech, and most people in the auditorium rose out of their seats. She said she wanted the DOC to see the people who would be impacted by the closure, and highlighted the difficult decisions they may have to make if they're reassigned.
“These are just some of the faces of the families that will be drastically disrupted if their spouses or parents have to transfer to another facility further away," Tubbs said. "Then, these guys will have to decide between a longer commute which means less time with their families, or uprooting their families from all they know entirely to accommodate this closure.”
The DOC said it proposed SCI Rockview for closure because to stay open it would need $74 million in upgrades over the next five years. And only 82% of prison beds are full in the state DOC system.