Former SCI Pittsburgh Records After Closure
SCI Pittsburgh permanently closed in 2017. It is not an operating State Correctional Institution and should not be listed as a current destination, release gate, or contact point for a person now serving a Pennsylvania sentence. No current facility address or telephone line is supplied because the research did not identify an operating institution to contact.
The closure changes the entire lookup. A person convicted in Allegheny County may be held at an SCI elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Geography does not control the state search. The statewide PA DOC locator follows the person through the state system, while UJS and the Allegheny court record follow the case. Those records answer different questions.
A historical SCI Pittsburgh reference can still matter in an older record. It may identify a prior institution, transfer point, or record custodian context. It cannot establish present custody. If a name is linked to the former institution, use an inmate number and the statewide locator to find the later state location or supervised-person record.
Search Former SCI Pittsburgh Records
The PA DOC Inmate and Parolee Locator is the correct current search. Use the inmate side when the person is believed to remain incarcerated. Use the department-supervised-person side when the person may have left an SCI for state parole. The locator is statewide, so no Allegheny County location filter should replace the person's identifier.
- Collect the DOC inmate number or parole number from an existing record when possible.
- Choose the inmate or supervised-person search that matches the likely current stage.
- Search by number. If using a name, compare date of birth and all available identity details.
- Open the detail and record the exact current location, Release Date, and identifiers shown.
- Follow a community-corrections location to the PA DOC supervision route rather than calling it discharge.
- Contact the assigned parole office when the record points to state field supervision.
The locator's verified public label is Release Date. No verified screen label called Projected Release Date or Tentative Release Date was located. Pennsylvania also does not promise the exact planned release date to the general public. Do not turn the visible field into a forecast or add a status that the system does not display.
Note: Search statewide because no operating SCI in Allegheny County was identified after SCI Pittsburgh closed.
Former SCI Pittsburgh Result Fields
A locator result should be read as a current state-system record, not as a page from the closed prison. Match the person before interpreting the custody event. A Release Date can support the move from an SCI into supervision, while a current community-corrections location can still denote monitored state control.
| PA DOC field | What it supports |
|---|---|
| Inmate number | Connects the result to a specific state correctional identity. |
| Parole number | Helps locate the supervised-person record after prison release. |
| Date of birth | Helps distinguish people with the same or similar names. |
| Current location | Shows the state institution or community-corrections setting reported by DOC. |
| Release Date | The state locator's actual label for the release date shown. |
| Available image | One identity aid that must be compared with stronger identifiers. |
The official PA DOC locator guidance explains the statewide search:
The state page prevents a closed local institution from misdirecting a search for a current Pennsylvania inmate or parolee.
Former SCI Pittsburgh Records Contact
There is no operating SCI Pittsburgh contact card to publish. For readily available status, use the locator. For a specific existing state record, contact the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Right-to-Know Law Office. Identify the inmate number and exact record or field tied to the former institution or later transfer.
PA DOC Right-to-Know Law OfficeOffice of Chief Counsel
1920 Technology Parkway
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
717-728-7763
RA-docrighttoknow@pa.gov
A state request should not demand a new release calculation. It can ask for an existing movement, location, or release record by identifier and date range. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law does not require creation of a record and does not supply a universal retention period. Redactions or exemptions can apply to protected content.
If the historic issue concerns the Allegheny criminal case rather than the state custody record, use UJS or the Allegheny Department of Court Records. The court record can show sentence and disposition. It does not provide a live DOC location or prove the date a person physically left an SCI.
Allegheny County keeps the current year plus four prior years of criminal files readily available in courthouse Room 220. Older files must be ordered from storage. Public terminals are available, and staff answer file-order questions at 412-350-5320, but they do not give case-specific information by telephone. This route can recover the durable court history when the old case predates the useful online view.
Sealed, expunged, and limited-access matters may not appear in public UJS Case Search. A missing docket is therefore not proof that the person never entered SCI Pittsburgh or that no state release occurred. Authorized access or a state record may be needed to answer the narrower question.
Release After Former SCI Pittsburgh
State-prison release and sentence discharge are separate milestones. A person can leave an SCI and remain under PA DOC parole supervision. The Pennsylvania Parole Board makes the release decision, while DOC field staff supervise state parole. A locator result with a Release Date and parole number supports the prison-to-supervision transition, not necessarily the end of correctional authority.
- Parole eligibility
- The point when the Board may consider release; it is not a promised exit.
- Parole grant
- A favorable decision that still depends on release prerequisites and processing.
- Physical release
- The custody event after orders, scheduling, plan approval, and holds are resolved.
- Parole discharge
- A later end to state supervision that should be verified separately.
When state supervision is based in Allegheny County, the Pittsburgh District Office at 134 Enterprise Street can be reached at 412-365-3540. The North Shore Sub Office at 1121 West North Avenue can be reached at 412-442-5840. Those offices handle state supervision. Allegheny Adult Probation is the separate county authority for county cases.
Note: A person can be released from prison while still serving the sentence under parole supervision.
Former SCI Pittsburgh Release Detainers
ANGLE K comes from Allegheny County Jail Policy 220. The policy says ACJ will not delay an otherwise authorized release solely for an I-247 civil immigration detainer or I-200 administrative warrant, and that such a detainer does not impede bond. A judicial warrant is treated differently. This rule belongs to ACJ and cannot be presented as a PA DOC or former SCI Pittsburgh policy.
If ACJ transferred a person into Pennsylvania state custody, first document that county transfer through the jail. Then follow PA DOC for the state institution, later community-corrections placement, or parole event. An immigration issue after the state transfer must be verified with the state and relevant federal authority. Do not carry the ACJ policy forward as a prediction.
A missing state result, closed prison, or old SCI Pittsburgh reference does not prove an ICE handoff. If immigration custody is genuinely implicated, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator within its limits. An affirmative agency event is required before reporting a transfer.
Verify Former SCI Pittsburgh Release
A defensible conclusion identifies the event and its custodian. The PA DOC locator supplies current state location and the displayed Release Date. The assigned parole office supplies the state supervision route. UJS and the Allegheny court file supply the sentence or disposition. A DOC record can document a movement or release field when the public interface is not enough.
Do not infer release from an empty search. A missing result can reflect name mismatch, data lag, limited public information, or a search of the wrong custody class. Search by inmate or parole number and compare date of birth. Record the checked date because state status can change.
When sources disagree, preserve the scope of each. A court date can mark an order. A DOC date can mark the state custody event. A parole record can mark supervision after prison. Those dates can differ without proving an error. Ask each custodian to explain its own record rather than forcing them into one label.
Keep the former institution name only when it helps trace a specific historic state record.
The Allegheny County released-inmate search routes county, state, federal, and court records. For former SCI Pittsburgh, the statewide DOC path must lead because the institution itself no longer operates.