A study released in May had a lot to say about incarceration in Berks County.
Undertaken in a joint effort between the nonprofit organizations Building Justice in Berks, The Real Deal 610 and the Vera Institute of Justice, the study focuses on trying to reduce the inmate population in the county.
It also illuminates the experiences of people detained in Berks County Jail and recommends a new vision for public safety.
The study lobbied some criticism, pointed out alleged flaws and suggested changes. And much of that was directed at county officials: the county commissioners, district attorney, judges and the prison warden.
The Reading Eagle reached out to those county officials to gauge their opinions on the report. A few — two county commissioners and the district attorney — agreed to share their thoughts.
Commissioners Chairman Chistian Leinbach and Berks County Jail Warden Jeffrey Smith declined to comment, while Berks County President Judge M. Theresa Johnson did not respond to requests for comment.
Those who did respond said, in general, that they do not agree with some of the details in the report. They said it paints an inaccurate picture, and that it fails to give the county credit for the large strides it has made.
But the officials did say that the big picture, the overarching idea behind the report, is one they agree with. Finding a way to reduce the number of people behind bars is an endeavor they can continue to support.
Here’s what the officials had to say.
District Attorney John Adams
Adams said he had a lot of problems with the study.
“I don’t believe that the report is very accurate,” he said “I think it has many areas where the statistics do not reflect reality.”
Adams’ main complaint about the report is that it did not address the work that has already been done in attempting to decrease the jail population.
“I came into this job in 2008, and I believe our prison population was about 1,300 at that time,” Adams said “It’s now 700 — that’s about a 45% reduction. So, frankly, I think we are doing a very good job.”
But, Adams added, he is the first to admit there are places where the county can do a better job.
“One of the areas that immediately comes to mind of which I have concerns is the long lengths of stay in our jail,” he said. “I believe that the majority of those lengths of stays are caused by certain judges who continually grant continuances requested by defense counsel.”
Adams cited one case in particular where a man facing gun and drug charges has remained imprisoned since 2020, saying the court has allowed him to manipulate the system and delay his trial.
And that is not an isolated case, Adams said.
The district attorney said his staff continually requests that the court schedule cases for trial but there are certain judges who continually grant delays.
“There are cases where a lengthy period of time between the initial charge and a trial is unavoidable, especially when there are mental health evaluations or cooperation issues,” Adams said. “But the court has to take requests by my office to list a case for trial seriously so that we don’t have a backlog and individuals lingering in our jail.
“It’s about time that our courts put their foot down, and they have to understand that there’s a responsibility to move cases. And I believe that if certain judges would stop granting serial continuance motions that our inmate census would be at a minimum 100 individuals less than the current census.”
An area where Adams said he isn’t exactly on the same page as the study is recommendations to enact diversion policies for an assortment of low-level crimes. The report suggests diverting offenders charged with things like drug possession, trespassing and vagrancy.
Adams said he cannot enact such a blanket policy.
“This is another place where there are complete inaccuracies,” Adams said. “Each individual case has to be reviewed on its own merit.”
That being said, Adams agreed that jail is not always the best place for some low-level offenders.
“I am the first one to acknowledge that in some drug possession cases it would appear that maybe the individual shouldn’t end up in jail,” he said. “But, on the other hand, many times the fact that that individual does end up in jail is the only thing that saves their lives because many times those individuals are so addicted that they need help, and to permit them to remain on the street would be a death wish.”
Adams said the county has had a marijuana diversion program in place for several years, with all of those cases diverted and dismissed upon the completion of the program.
“No one should go to jail for possession of a small amount of marijuana,” Adams said.
Adams said he also took issue with information about mental health included in the study. He said it does not reflect the diversion efforts the county has undertaken to remove mental health cases from the system.
“I think we have a great diversion program here which is being run by Connections Work, who are working closely with the police, my office and the public defender’s office,” Adams said, referring to the local nonprofit that works to help people reenter society from incarceration. “So we are diverting a lot of individuals out of the system every week.
“In some cases charges are not filed. Some are diverted into treatment programs and charges are withdrawn after successful completion, and there are a few where the charges could be reduced upon participating in treatment programs.”
An area of the study that Adams does believe is a challenge for the county is homelessness.
“When an individual is arrested and they’re homeless, that brings the problem of whether he or she shows up in court,” Adams said. “So I acknowledge that is one of the biggest problems when we are dealing with a low-level offender, and it is a problem that we need to work on.”
A change that Adams said he’s not willing to make is easing prosecution on low-level retail thefts.
“I will tell you though that my position on retail theft is that I’m not going to permit law enforcement in our county to look the other way and to not arrest people who commit theft,” he said. “I feel strongly about that because Philadelphia invoked some policies that led to some retailers having to move out of the city because of the lawlessness that was occurring.”
Adams said protecting the local business community is something he feels very strongly about and that he will not tolerate retail theft.
“We identify many individuals with much more serious problems as a result of an arrest for retail theft cases,” he said. “Many times those individuals are addicted to drugs and the only way to get them into the treatment that they need is through the criminal justice system.
“Those people are eligible for treatment court and other programs that could actually help treat the underlying issues.”
The study makes a recommendation that the plea bargain process not be coercive and not use threats of harsher penalties. That, Adams said, is how the process already works.
“We do not use any coercive plea bargaining processes,” Adams said. “Every individual who is offered a plea agreement can either accept it or decline it. And we do not punish people for going to trial. If someone is convicted after a trial the sentence is completely determined by the presiding judge.”
Adams said the study also criticizes probation and technical violations of probation — failing to adhere to the terms and conditions set by the court during a probation period but not committing a new crime. Those issues are things that are already being addressed at the state level.
He said the Legislature has passed probation reform that will be very impactful in lessening the amount of time an individual can be incarcerated for a technical violation of probation.
“Those changes are going to help reduce our jail census,” he said. “The reform will also lessen the length that an individual will serve on probation.
“In 2008, Berks implemented an early termination of probation program, so we are way ahead of the curve in this area,” Adams added. “But this legislation will reduce it even more than what we are currently doing.”
Adams said he believes Berks is working toward lowering the jail population, but that in many cases incarceration is a necessity.
“Jails are inevitable because there is, unfortunately, a minority of our population who are dangerous and cannot behave on the streets so the only way to protect the community is to incarcerate a certain percentage of people,” he said. “But those are generally our most violent and prolific offenders.
“I am 1,000% on board with trying to divert some of those low-level offenders out of jail.”
For Adams, the issue is about both helping to improve and protect the community, and about the overwhelming cost of the criminal justice system.
“I think we all need to be careful about how we spend taxpayer money, and, quite frankly, we all know the jail is a huge burden,” he said “And, therefore, we have to be smart and we need to lessen the cost to the taxpayers.”
Commissioners Michael Rivera and Dante Santoni Jr.
Rivera said that when it comes to any report released having to do with county operations he will take it under serious consideration — no matter the issue.
“If there is something that I can get out of it that would benefit the county and the taxpayers, I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “I may not agree with all the findings, but there are aspects that I think we need to have further discussion on.
“I want to see what we can learn about reducing the jail population because I agree with that premise.”
Rivera said he supports looking at alternatives to jail detention for those who commit low-level crimes because it doesn’t benefit them and it doesn’t benefit the county taxpayer who is on the hook to pay for the housing and care of those individuals.
Santoni said that overall he certainly agrees with the concept of reducing the jail population. He said it’s an effort he believes the county should be working toward.
“This is an issue that I think people can really support in regards to providing resources for people and saving taxpayer money,” he said. “But this is not going to be an overnight thing.”
Santoni, who served in the state House of Representatives for 17 years before being elected to his commissioner post, noted that he was a member of the Legislature when a lot of “tough on crime” bills were passed. He said the outcome of that legislation was not successful.
“What we did was put people in jail for reasons that they shouldn’t have been there and the cost was significant,” he said. “But I think public perception has changed over time.”
He said he believes his colleagues on the board of commissioners are very supportive of the overall mission to reduce the jail population, but said the details about how to go about it is going to take more time and more discussion.
Rivera said one of his main criticisms of the report is that it doesn’t accurately reflect the progress that has been made to tackle the issue. For example, he noted there was no mention of the diversionary programs offered to those who are funneled into treatment court or the assistance given to reentrants through Connections Work or the effort by local law enforcement to complete crisis intervention training.
“These are things we are already doing,” he said. “The report — in some parts — makes it sound like the county isn’t doing anything, when in fact we are doing a lot on this front.”
And, Rivera pointed out, the report includes recommendations that the commissioners and the jail simply cannot control like changing sentencing guidelines or what charges the district attorney files.
“While we need to make sure we are good partners with those in the criminal justice system to try to keep people out of jail, there is a lot that we have no control over,” he said.
Rivera said he fully understands that most people in county jail will be released back into the community within a few months. That is why he wants to make sure the county is providing them while they are there with the resources they need to avoid recidivism.
He specifically cited a new partnership that began earlier this year between Berks County and PennDOT to provide county prisoners a valid state identification or application for a state identification prior to release.
The idea for the effort was born out of a simulation event held last year by Connections Work meant to show the challenges that people released from prison encounter after their release back into the community.
But, Rivera said, there are financial limitations that must also be considered when it comes to funding these kinds of programs.
An example of this was on display last fall when Connections Work requested the commissioners approve a contract that would include funding for a trio of programs as a line item in the county budget.
During that presentation, all three commissioners voiced support for the programs but acknowledged the county was already facing a tough financial situation related to the 2025 budget.
“We have a limited number of resources, but we do support working with our partners at the state and federal level to help fund those programs that we know are making a difference,” he said. “The budget is tight so we have to make tough decisions about how to best spend the money that we have.”
Rivera, who sits on the county’s criminal justice advisory board, noted that it will take everyone working together to help reduce the jail population. He also said he liked the recommendation that the process include the voices of those who have been involved in the system.
He said he recently invited the leadership team at the RealDeal 610 to review the criminal justice advisory board’s strategic plan to provide input from the perspective of those who have been incarcerated.
Rivera said he would also be open to creating a systemwide data clearinghouse that would include details relating to the sentencing, detention, supervision and treatment of inmates.
The authors of the report said it would allow them to craft policies that address the issues that cause people to commit crimes and the roadblocks they experience when they are released from jail as well as highlight programs that keep people from returning.
Rivera said members of the criminal justice advisory board have already acknowledged that sharing more information would be a positive step in the right direction.
“I would be more than open to looking at whether it’s possible,” he said.
But, he cautioned, privacy laws might be barriers to accomplishing that goal.
Like Rivera, Santoni said the county already does provide a lot of resources aimed at keeping people out of jail or helping them as they prepare to reenter society. But, he added, the county can always look for more ways to step up services.
He said he’s committed to diverting those with mental health issues and substance use disorders to programs that will benefit those individuals rather than sticking them in a cell.
He also lauded the work of Connections Work and the crisis intervention training program for local law enforcement.
Santoni said he would support more input from people who were in the system as the county continues to work toward improving it.
“I think that was an important part of the report,” he said. “Certainly, if we are looking to improve the system, I think we should get input from those who have had that experience.”
Any changes made to the criminal justice system, Santoni said, are things the commissioners can’t do alone. Along with the input from those who have been incarcerated, there are many other stakeholders who need their voices heard.
“A lot of the things that were in this report are things that our district attorney, judges and state lawmakers would have control over,” he said. “We can’t really do some of these things on our own.”
