Allegheny County Council to weigh bill that addresses jail staffing, overtime costs
September 08, 2026
90.5 WESA: “Allegheny County Council on Tuesday introduced a bill meant to address a yearslong staffing crisis at the Allegheny County Jail — and establish a protocol for transporting incarcerated people to the hospital.
Hospital runs “are the number-one contributor to overtime in the jail, especially forced overtime,” said bill sponsor Bethany Hallam.
Under the current system, a prisoner who leaves the jail must be accompanied by two corrections officers. If the patient is admitted to the hospital, a sheriff’s deputy takes custody. Hallam said that can result in hours of overtime for both corrections officers and deputies….
Abolitionist Law Center community organizer Tanisha Long described the plan as a win for deputies, corrections officers, incarcerated people, and county taxpayers.
‘The sheriffs do the hospital runs. The incarcerated people get their out-of-cell time. The county doesn’t spend hundreds of thousands of dollars fixing this with corrections officers’ overtime,’ she said.”