Prison oversight office, board move toward final approval
March 16, 2026
Metro Philadelphia: “Philadelphia’s new prison oversight system has moved a step closer to becoming a reality.
City Council advanced legislation Monday outlining the role of the Office of Prison Oversight and the Prison Oversight Community Board, both of which were authorized through a ballot question in last year’s primary election.
Establishing the office and board would culminate a yearslong legislative effort to increase accountability and transparency at the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, which was plagued by a severe staffing crisis, spike in inmate deaths, escapes and violence in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prisons Commissioner Michael Resnick, during a March 16 Council hearing, said the jails – all of which are located along State Road in Northeast Philadelphia – have ‘seen considerable improvements over the past two years.’
Nearly 400 more correctional officers are on the job, and the inmate population has dropped from more than 4,800 in September 2024 to under 3,500, he said. Three incarcerated people died in PDP custody in 2025, the lowest number in at least 25 years, according to Resnick….
‘Our hope is that the Prison Oversight Board will serve as a real tool for accountability, not symbolic oversight, not delayed action, but meaningful intervention that will prevent not just deaths, but also other human rights violations,’ said Saleem Holbrook, executive director of the Abolitionist Law Center.”