Local and state officials met in Frankfort on Tuesday to discuss solutions to long-time issues with the halfway house in Paducah.
The privately owned facility allows inmates who are about to end their prison sentence transition back into society. McCracken County commissioners Bill Bartleman and Scott Wathen, Paducah city commissioner Richard Abraham and McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden met with Justice Secretary John Tilley and Deputy Commissioner of Adult Institutions James Erwin to discuss an abnormally high escape rate among inmates there.
Bartleman said over the last five years, more than 160 inmates have walked away or escaped -- and an additional 600 inmates violated rules and returned to prison. He said two escapes in the past month resulted in car theft, a burglary and the assault of a police officer.
“A lot of incidences that have happened have endangered the public and my fear is that it’s a tragedy waiting to happen. It’s just time something needs to be done.” Bartleman said.
Bartleman said Justice Secretary John Tilley and Deputy Commissioner of Adult Institutions James Erwin say the Paducah house is the only facility of its kind in the state surrounded by a residential neighborhood.
He and other local officials want the owners, Keeton Corrections, to move. Officials are asking the state to temporarily stop sending inmates to the facility.
Bartleman said Erwin has committed to coming to Paducah to speak with officials from Keeton Corrections to ask them to communicate better with local law enforcement. He says state officials will also look at possibly changing inspection procedures to insure better security at the facility.
