Dauphin County announced the prison’s new director of criminal justice, John Bey (center), and internal affairs investigator, Kevin Myers (third from right) at a press conference.
Dauphin County Prison has two new officials at the top who have pledged greater accountability and visibility.
On Wednesday, county officials announced a new director of criminal justice and an internal affairs investigator, as part of reform efforts at the prison.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era at Dauphin County Prison,” said county Commissioner Mike Pries during a press conference.
Former Pennsylvania State Police Capt. John Bey will now serve as the prison’s director of criminal justice. Bey most recently served as chief of the Lancaster City Police Bureau, and, before that, as a chief master sergeant with the PA Air National Guard.
In his new role, Bey will oversee operations at the prison, work release center and the county’s judicial center. He will also serve as a liaison between the prison, courts, community, media and other criminal justice departments, Pries explained.
“I believe that I am the right person to lead this transformation,” Bey said. “To be able to be out in the community and meet with stakeholders to address their issues, that’s a huge appeal for me.”
Previously, Brian Clark served as the prison’s director of corrections, but the county parted ways with Clark in September 2021.
In recent years, the prison has faced allegations of abuse against inmates, as well as a high number of inmate deaths.
“We thought we had the right administration in place to bring about these changes—we were wrong,” Pries said.
In October 2021, the county brought on former Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel to advise the prison board of inspectors and to evaluate and help transform the conditions at the prison. In the meantime, Warden Greg Briggs provided oversight at the prison.
Bey now will take on that responsibility.
Additionally, Kevin Myers will now act as the internal affairs investigator for the prison. His responsibilities will include reviewing staff conduct and investigating allegations and complaints.
Myers has over 20 years of experience working with federal, state and local law enforcement and served as a criminal investigator for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Both new hires will start their positions this week.
While Wetzel explained that the prison still faces challenges with staffing and the impacts of the pandemic, he said that progress is being made.
“The mission is not accomplished, but we’ve made big strides,” Wetzel said. “We’ve stabilized the place. You have the right leadership team, but the work isn’t done.”
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