Performance Audit of Pennsylvania Correctional Industries of the Department of Corrections, September 2005

According to information available in July 2005 on the state Department of Corrections' Web site, Pennsylvania Correctional Industries, or PCI, employs 1,640 inmate workers at 18 state prison locations. These workers are paid between 19 cents and 42 cents an hour, plus bonuses of up to 70 cents an hour more, to produce products and provide services for purchase by state agencies, schools and universities, local governments, and other non-profit tax supported groups throughout Pennsylvania. The business also uses a trade name, Big House Products, based on prison vernacular.

In 2004, according to the Web site, PCI produced nearly 1.7 million license plates, 46,000 pairs of inmate work boots, and nearly 12,000 pairs of eyeglasses. In the provision of services, PCI canned almost 114,000 cases of fruit and vegetables, washed 13 million pounds of laundry, and processed 4.1 million pounds of beef, pork, turkey, and fish. Examples of other products and services offered for purchase by PCI include uniforms, cleaning products and soaps, modular office systems, metal and wood furniture, file cabinets, office seating, mattresses, towels and linens, picnic tables and park benches, storage facilities, vehicle restoration, furniture reupholstering and refinishing, printing, and mail distribution.

To be employed by PCI, inmates must be of good conduct and be able to read at least at an eighth grade level. Up to 30 percent of inmate wages are used for victim restitution, child support, court costs, and fines, notes the Web site, which says that inmate wages for 2003-04 were $1.93 million.

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