George W. Hill Correctional Facility

George W. Hill Correctional Facility
Map
Location500 Cheyney Road, Thornton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
StatusOpen
Capacity1883
Opened1998
Former nameBroadmeadows
Delaware County Prison
Managed byDelaware County
WardenLaura Williams

George W. Hill Correctional Facility is a county jail and prison located in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in the townships of Thornbury and Concord.[1][2] It has a Thornton postal address,[3] and is within the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Founded in 1998, the jail was previously managed and operated by Boca Raton, Florida's GEO Group until 2009 and was run by West Caldwell, New Jersey based company, Community Education Centers (CEC). In April 2017, GEO Group completed an acquisition of CEC, regaining management of the prison.[4] Currently, the facility is managed by Delaware County, which took back control of the jail as of April 6, 2022 and generally houses inmates with sentences of two years less one day or a state sentences of five years less one day.[5][6] The facility was Pennsylvania's last privately operated county jail.

The jail occupies fewer than 144 acres (58 ha) of land on a more than 414-acre (168 ha) plot of county property.[1]

Controversy

Between 2005 and 2008, at least eight people died when GEO Group-operated the facility. Several of those deaths resulted in lawsuits by family members who said the facility did not provide adequate medical care or proper supervision for offenders. On December 31, 2008, GEO pulled out of operations at this facility, "citing underperformance and frequent litigations" as the reasons.[7] According to the Delaware County Medical Examiner's office six suicides have occurred at George W. Hill since CEC took over operations of the facility in 2009.[8]

The prison was reacquired by GEO Group in April 2017, after GEO group completed an acquisition of Community Education Centers.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Delaware County Open Space, Recreation, and Greenway Plan Volume III: County Parks and Recreation Plan" (PDF). Delaware County, Pennsylvania. April 2015. pp. 1–13 (PDF p. 31). Retrieved 2018-09-26. For example, the County Prison in Thornbury and Concord Townships, sits on over 414 acres of land, less than 144 acres of which is developed for the prison.
  2. ^ Maps:
  3. ^ "Delaware County Prison". Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2018-09-26. Location: 500 Cheyney Road Thornton, PA 19373
  4. ^ "Press Release". investors.geogroup.com. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  5. ^ "Delaware County PA". co.delaware.pa.us. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  6. ^ "CEC". cecintl.com. Retrieved 2014-12-15. 1998
  7. ^ Rose, Alex. "A changing of the guard at county prison". delcotimes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  8. ^ Scala, Kristina. "County probing two suicides at prison". delcotimes.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-05. Retrieved 2015-09-17.

39°54′10″N 75°30′51″W / 39.90289°N 75.51417°W / 39.90289; -75.51417


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