A new report from the Pennsylvania Prison Society on conditions at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF) — Philadelphia's largest jail — details improvements and continued concerns that affect the health, safety, and dignity of people in custody there.
The March 2026 report, now publicly available on the Prison Society’s website summarizes findings from walkthroughs conducted on March 10 and 25, 2026. During the visits, Prison Society staff and trained volunteers, joined by State Representative Rick Krajewski interviewed 83 incarcerated men across four housing units, including the restricted housing unit (RHU). Findings from the walkthrough include:
Notable improvements regarding:
- Personal tablets: Introduced in January 2026, tablets allow phone and video calls, sick call requests, commissary ordering, and access to the law library. The Prison Society will continue to monitor how they affect conditions in future walkthroughs.
- Access to phone calls: 85% of men reported they can make a daily phone call.
- Access to showers: 85% of men reported they are able to shower at least three times a week.
- Commissary: 80% of people who ordered from the commissary reported receiving their orders or appropriate refunds, up from 66% during the previous walkthrough.
Persistent concerns including:
- Inadequate food: 93% of participants reported going hungry between meals.
- Lack of purposeful activity: Most men continue to spend the majority of the day locked in their cells or dorms with little meaningful activity.
- Persistent delays in laundry: Only 13% of participants reported receiving clean sheets every week, despite jail policy calling for weekly linen exchanges.
- Rodents and roaches: 77% percent of participants reported repeatedly seeing rodents or cockroaches in their housing units.
- Violence: More than half of participants said they do not feel safe in the facility, 60% reported witnessing fights between incarcerated people, and 43% reported witnessing assaults by staff.
As Pennsylvania’s independent prison monitor, the Prison Society regularly visits jails and prisons across the state to assess conditions and advocate for the humane treatment of people in custody. Regular walkthroughs allow the Prison Society to document changes over time, elevate experiences of people in prison to jail administrators and the public, and promote accountability.
Thank you to all the Philadelphia-area volunteers, and to State Representative Rick Krajewski, who went on this walkthrough and to the many volunteers who, each week, help people incarcerated in Philadelphia-area jails.
