Bucks County prison oversight board wasn't told about inmate death. Why that's not unusual
A board that oversees the Bucks County Corrections Center wants to make sure its members are notified when inmates die in-custody.
Earlier this month, the Prison Oversight Board adopted a motion requiring the Corrections Department to notify its chairperson of “significant” happenings at the jail including an inmate death. The chairperson will be responsible for notifying other members.
The board vote came after county Controller Pamela Van Blunk, who sits on the board, said a January death at the jail was not reported to the board, which is responsible for overseeing the operation and maintenance of the jail and the health and safekeeping of inmates.
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January inmate death under investigation
Octavius Davis, 35, of Bristol Township, was reportedly found unresponsive in his jail cell on January 16, according to Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck. Test results are pending and a cause and manner of death has not been completed, Buck said.
Court records show Davis had a history of misdemeanor drug-related offenses. He was sentenced to probation last year but recently was jailed over a probation violation.
Van Blunk also questioned if the board receives coroner findings and the death investigations after they are completed by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and county detectives.
“We should,” she added.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, who also sits on the board, said his office can only share investigation information if criminal charges are filed under the Criminal History Records Information Act. He confirmed the Davis investigation remains open.
Starting in May, though, the board may be able to get it because of a change in the records law that will allow victims and family members access to records for purposes of filing a civil lawsuit.
The inmate death last month is the first reported this year at the jail. Last year, five Bucks County inmates died in custody, according to Bucks County Prison Oversight Board records.
A sixth inmate died in August and he was initially counted, but later removed because the inmate, who was transported to the hospital from the jail, was released from custody before he died.
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No written policies for releasing information about inmate deaths
No regulations exist in Pennsylvania for the public notification of deaths in correctional institutes.
Neither Bucks or neighboring Montgomery counties have a written policy in place for releasing information about inmate deaths. They do have protocols for notifying other public officials.
Bucks County typically confirms inmate deaths in short news releases posted online that do not identify the individual.
Under state regulations, county jails are required to have written policies for the prompt notification to an inmate’s listed emergency contact in the event of death, serious illness or accident.
The regulations also require jails to report all in-custody deaths by the 30th day of the month following the death to the state corrections department. But those reports are only “numerical figures for statistical and trending purposes.”
Counties are not required to submit information about the circumstances surrounding in-custody deaths or identify the inmate to any state or local agency; under the death in custody reporting law, law enforcement must file those reports with the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance, the agency that tracks those deaths.
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County prison board takes steps to ensure it's notified of deaths
