New safety precautions announced after man killed on Philadelphia prison grounds following release on bail
Rodney Hargrove, 20, was killed just after 1 a.m. Mar. 18 near the front gates of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.
In response to the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man on the grounds of a Philadelphia prison after his release, the city on Wednesday announced steps to improve the safety of individuals who are freed from correctional facilities.
The Philadelphia Department of Prisons will install more surveillance cameras and license-plate readers at the parking lot entrances of Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, the Detention Center, and the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.
City officials are “exploring funding” to pay for ride-sharing services for late-night releases when other transportation options are not available, the department said in a news release.
The department also “is exploring with its legal counsel and other criminal justice partners the feasibility of reconsidering access to bail processing 24 hours a day.”
A department spokesperson could not be reached Wednesday night to elaborate.
Rodney Hargrove, 20, of Philadelphia, was killed just after 1 a.m. March 18 near the front gates of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road. Hargrove, who had been held on theft and related charges since March 11, was driven to a bus stop outside the prison grounds by corrections officers after his release. There, a dark-colored vehicle began pursuing him and he ran back to the prison grounds, where he was fatally shot by someone inside the car.
No arrests have been announced in the case. The department’s internal investigation of the incident has not been completed.
Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said her agency remains “shocked and horrified” by Hargrove’s killing.
“We recognize that this murder erodes public trust in the safety and operations of PDP facilities and causes great concern for the families and friends of those employed at the PDP and those in our custody,” Carney said in a statement.
“In response to this awful crime and to further the safety of everyone involved, PDP is taking numerous steps to augment perimeter security and, in partnership with other stakeholders, explore augmentation of the bail release process,” Carney said.
The Inquirer in 2019 reported that scores of individuals were routinely released in the middle of the night after buses stop running and jail cashier’s offices are closed, leaving newly freed people without their identification, money, or cell phones. Prison-reform advocates said the policy left those being released vulnerable to becoming victims of crime.
The department, which emphasized that it has no control over when bail is posted, said it has reduced the number of people who are released late at night.
From May 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2019 — a period of 1,247 days — the department reportedly processed 7,771 bail-paid releases during the hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
From Oct. 1, 2019, through March 24, 2021 — a period of 540 days — the department reportedly processed 966 bail-paid releases during those same hours.