Philadelphia Department of Prisons

The Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP) is the city department that operates the jails of the City and County of Philadelphia. Because Philadelphia is a consolidated city-county, what elsewhere is a county jail is a city department here. The department holds people awaiting trial, people serving short sentences, and some people awaiting transfer to state prisons. It does not run state prisons, which belong to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, or federal facilities. ^[1]

1 Facilities and leadership

PDP operates four facilities, all on or near State Road in Northeast Philadelphia: the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (opened in 1995 and the largest), the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, the Riverside Correctional Facility, and the Detention Center, which opened in 1963, replaced Moyamensing Prison as the intake center, and now serves as the department's medical unit with a 99-bed Prison Health Services Wing. ^[1] The historic House of Correction was emptied of inmates in 2019, with its formal closure planned for 2020, according to KYW Newsradio reporting; the department's 2025 annual report says some administrative offices are now located in the House of Correction's administrative area. ^[2] The commissioner is appointed by the Mayor. Michael R. Resnick signs the department's 2025 annual report as commissioner; he was named by Mayor Cherelle Parker in 2024, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, after Commissioner Blanche Carney retired. ^[3] The department reports through the Managing Director's Office.

2 Population and who is held

Most people in the jails have not been convicted; they are held pretrial, often because they did not post bail set by Municipal Court bail magistrates or because a judge ordered detention. A smaller group is serving county sentences of less than two years. The department's 2025 annual report says the lowest daily census for the month fell from 4,761 in September 2024 to 3,370 in August 2025, the lowest daily census in more than 30 years, and was 3,439 for December 2025. ^[4] Reforms by the courts, the District Attorney and defenders have affected admissions; see Defender Association of Philadelphia and First Judicial District.

3 Staffing and conditions

After the COVID-19 pandemic the department experienced severe staffing shortages, lockdowns, deaths in custody and escapes, as reported by 6abc and PhillyVoice. ^[3] The 2025 annual report says the department reached pre-COVID staffing levels, that correctional officers, sergeants and lieutenants received a 4.5 percent raise effective July 1, 2024 and a further 3 percent raise effective March 1, 2025, that trainees were given hiring bonuses totaling 20 percent of base salary, and that the City waived residency requirements to improve recruitment. It also says that, for the first time since the 18th century, every housing facility is fully air-conditioned, and that the department launched a reentry hub offering same-day access to identification, benefit navigation and transportation support. ^[4] The department's correctional officers are represented by AFSCME District Council 33, and the July 2025 strike affected city operations; see 2025 DC 33 Strike.

4 Oversight

Several outside bodies monitor the jails: the courts, which handle conditions-of-confinement lawsuits; the Pennsylvania Prison Society, which has historic visitation rights; the City Controller; and City Council hearings. On Proposal 3 on the May 2025 ballot, Philadelphia voters approved an amendment to the Home Rule Charter creating an independent Prison Community Oversight Board and an Office of Prison Oversight, by 124,982 votes (76.88 percent) to 37,585 (23.12 percent), according to the City Commissioners' results. The charter change was reported to give the board a dedicated funding floor, subpoena power and authority to make unannounced visits; in March 2026, the Abolitionist Law Center reported that Council legislation setting out the roles of the new office and board was moving toward final approval. ^[5] Implementation details are still developing.

5 Visiting, contacting and complaints

Families can look up a person's location through the department's inmate locator, and visiting, phone and video-call rules are published on the department's website. Complaints about conditions can be raised with the facility's grievance system, the new oversight office once operating, legal aid organizations, or the defender or attorney on the person's case. See also How to File a Complaint. Information about release and probation supervision is in Adult Probation and Parole Department.

See also: First Judicial District, Defender Association of Philadelphia, Adult Probation and Parole Department, Philadelphia Sheriff's Office.

References

1. City of Philadelphia, Department of Prisons, phila.gov.
2. City of Philadelphia, Department of Prisons, "Facilities," phila.gov; KYW Newsradio, "Philadelphia empties House of Correction, another step toward closure" (December 2019).
3. Philadelphia Inquirer, "Mayor Parker names Michael Resnick prisons commissioner" (April 8, 2024); 6abc and PhillyVoice reporting on Commissioner Carney's retirement.
4. Philadelphia Department of Prisons, 2025 Annual Report (February 2026), phila.gov.
5. Philadelphia City Commissioners, May 2025 primary results for Proposed Charter Change 3; Abolitionist Law Center, "Prison oversight office, board move toward final approval" (March 16, 2026).