Beyond relying on the prisoner paperwork at hand, guards will be required to consult an internal tracking system at the county's Office of Judicial Support for release data and another tracking system run by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
Prison Superintendent John Reilly Jr. met with the council Monday. Reilly will meet with all departments that handle release data, including prison staff, the district judges, Probation and Parole, the Office of Judicial Support, pretrial bail staff, Domestic Relations, and the County Court to ensure coordination.
The prison currently issues a "code-red" warning via phone to notify nearby neighbors of an escape. There will now be a "code-yellow" notification when an inmate is mistakenly released, the county announced.
In June, murder suspect Taaqi "Fame" Brown of Germantown was released instead of another inmate with a similar name. He turned himself in a day later. In July, Ateia Polk of Philadelphia, who is charged with robbery, and David Jeffrey Wilson, who is facing firearms charges, were released because of paperwork errors, according to officials. Wilson remains at large.
A former inmate, Kelly DeLuca of Havertown, told The Inquirer she was mistakenly released in May despite telling guards she was not supposed to be freed. Her lawyer confirmed the error and said the confusion may have resulted when charges in another incident were reduced at the District Court level.
Community Education Centers Inc. of West Caldwell, N.J., has operated the prison since January 2009. The facility houses about 1,600 inmates and has a budget of about $43 million.
Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or mschaefer@phillynews.com.
