Workers have begun strengthening windows in Allegheny County Jail cells that inmates have breached in three escape attempts since 1995 by removing a middle vertical bar, officials said Wednesday.
The windows are "weak points" in the jail's security that must be fixed, said Warden Ramon Rustin. County workers will place a metal bar horizontally upon the existing vertical bar in each of the 1,800 cell windows, which are 18 inches wide.
"I have no idea how much it's going to cost, but it's getting done," Rustin said.
Officials wouldn't give a cost estimate or say when they hoped to finish the job, but it could cost up to $5.4 million to fix all of the windows based on the work done so far. The county Department of Public Works has spent $15,000 on labor and materials to upgrade five windows, said Director Tom Donatelli.
"The main constraint is time, not money," Donatelli said. The cost is lower than it could be because the county is using in-house labor, he said.
The money will come from the jail's $45 million operating budget as well as the public works capital improvements budget, Rustin said.
Donatelli questioned whether all cell windows should be fitted with crossing bars, since the three escape attempts have occurred only in upper-floor cells housing high-risk inmates.
Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel, who chairs the Jail Oversight Board, was unavailable for comment.
Inmate Frank Sebetich, 58, plunged 17 stories to his death from a window three months ago while trying to escape with a 200-foot rope made of bedsheets and jail uniforms. The incident prompted Rustin to review the jail's security measures.
In 1997, Jerome Bullock, 18, of Lawrenceville, died when his escape rope snapped and he fell 17 stories. The following year, Hasan Abdul Stevens, 30, of Monroeville, broke his ankle when his escape rope came up short.
Rustin found that in the three attempted escapes, one of the inmates sawed through the metal bar with a crude hacksaw and the other two forced the bars loose.
"The cell bar looked too inviting. One escape attempt is too many," Rustin said.
The windows are constructed in four layers for security purposes. The first, inside the room, is made of Lexan, a durable plexiglass; a vertical security bar is attached outside; a reinforced screen set in concrete covers the bar; and then a piece of glass. The construction is standard in many jails throughout the country, Donatelli said.
The $147 million jail opened in May of 1995. It houses 2,500 inmates, 290 of them women. County Chief Executive Dan Onorato appointed Rustin warden in October 2004.
Donatelli's department assumed responsibility for construction and maintenance at the jail at the beginning of this year.
