Lehigh County Prison:

This building was completed on the site of the original building which had been there since the early 1800's. In the late 1980's the city began the process of razing the old prison piece by piece and in it's place built the new, more modern building. Many refer to this building as the Taj Mah. There are 4, 4 story towers, all connected by a central tower in the middle. There has been talk about building a mirror image of this building directly behind it. The space is there to do so and if it is ever completed this prison would have a maximum capacity of nearly 4,000 inmates. This particular building houses nearly 2,000 inmates at present. It was completed in April of 1993. At that time the Lehigh County Corrections Department was housing inmates at various locations around the valley. When the building was ready, they moved all the inmate population to one central location. The only facilities not in the building are the Men's &Women's Work Release Centers and the Juvenile Center. County, State and Federal inmates, both male and female, adults and adjudicated adults are housed here. Many are being held for trial, some are awaiting pre-trial hearings, some have been sentenced and are awaiting transportation to other facilities, and some are serving up to 5 years less 1 day here while others might be awaiting parole. There is a vast mixture of violent and non-violent offenders here. About 97% are here on drug or related charges. Our volunteers work with the men on unit 1-A and the women on unit 4-C-1. For current news on these Choices programs click here.

Schuylkill County Prison:

This building has been the central housing unit for inmates in Schuylkill County since the mid 1800's. There have been updates made to the inside of the building and even a small, new addition in that back about 40 years ago. But basically it stands in it's original condition. Located in Pottsville, it stands on the mountain just in back of the county court house. County, State and Federal inmates, both male and female, adults and adjudicated adults are housed here. Many are being held for trial, some are awaiting pre-trial hearings, some have been sentenced and are awaiting transportation to other facilities, and some are serving up to 5 years less 1 day here while others might be awaiting parole. The county work release facility is also located with in the jail here . There is both a men's and women's work release. The total maximum population of this facility is 200. That includes both work release populations. There is a vast mixture of violent and non-violent offenders here. About 97% are here on drug or related charges. Our volunteers work with the women on unit B.  For current news on these Choices programs click here.

Carbon County Correctional Facility:

This facility is fairly new. It was finished in the early 1990's and inmates, both male and female were brought to be housed here. With a total maximum population of about 160. This jail has yet to be filled to capacity. Previous to it's existence, inmates were housed in the old jail located in the center of Jim Thorpe. This location is near the top of the Broad Mountain Road in Nesquehoning. The only inmate population here is  County, State and Federal inmates, male only, adults and adjudicated adults are housed here. Many are being held for trial, some are awaiting pre-trial hearings, some have been sentenced and are awaiting transportation to other facilities, and some are serving up to 5 years less 1 day here while others might be awaiting parole. There is a vast mixture of violent and non-violent offenders here. About 97% are here on drug or related charges. Our volunteers work with the men on medium and minimum secure units. In 1998 the jail closed it's doors to female inmates. There had been a separate unit set up for them but the population was so small it was deemed unnecessary to keep it available. In 1999 the former female unit was converted into a male unit to hold INS detainees and it remains in use for this purpose as of today. After the commissioners made the decision to discontinue housing female inmates, there had been talk of closing the facility all together. However, they came up with the alternative plan for the INS inmates which now provides income for the facility to remain open. Don't think for one minute though that Carbon County has no females who violate the law. It does and they are housed at Schuylkill County Prison. The plan is that if it ever gets to the point where Schuylkill County is unable to take any more, they would be sent to Lehigh or Monroe where there is ample room for them. For current news on these Choices programs click here.

Northampton County Prison:

This jail was also built in the 1800's. Having had several updates on the inside, the outside still appears very foreboding.  County, State and Federal inmates, both male and female, adults and adjudicated adults are housed here. Many are being held for trial, some are awaiting pre-trial hearings, some have been sentenced and are awaiting transportation to other facilities, and some are serving up to 5 years less 1 day here while others might be awaiting parole. There is a vast mixture of violent and non-violent offenders here. About 97% are here on drug or related charges. The total population of this facility is about 1000. That does not include the work release or juvenile populations who are also housed on the grounds in separate buildings. Northampton County is one of the few who have inmates, both juvenile and adults housed in such close proximity to each other. The entire corrections department is all located within this one complex. The court house is just to the right of the prison, work release is just to the left, the juvenile facility is located in front of the work release center and the probation and parole departments are in the building just in front of the prison. Our volunteers work with the women on unit F.