Access SCI Retreat Records

Historical SCI Retreat Releases

SCI Retreat was a Pennsylvania DOC institution in Newport Township. It closed in 2020. No one is released from SCI Retreat today, and no current result should list it as an active place of confinement. The name remains useful because older DOC records, court files, and archived materials can identify it as the institution for a past custody episode.

A historical departure could have been parole, maximum-sentence discharge, or transfer to another state institution. Those events differ. Parole moved a person from prison into conditional state supervision. Discharge ended the relevant DOC authority when the record says so. Transfer kept the person in state custody at a new location. The final DOC movement or release record is the best source for distinguishing them.

Confirm an SCI Retreat Release

Start with the identifying details on the old record. A DOC number is especially useful because names can vary and people can share the same name. The current statewide locator may show later state custody or supervision, but it is not an archive of every institutional move. A missing result does not erase the earlier Retreat episode.

1. Record the full name, DOC number, date of birth, and the approximate Retreat dates.
2. Search the PA DOC locator in inmate and supervised-person modes.
3. Compare any current result with the old record rather than assuming the last named site is current.
4. Search the Pennsylvania UJS docket for the sentencing and later court entries.
5. Ask DOC Central Records for the existing final movement, parole-release, or discharge entry.

The Luzerne County released inmate search separates county and state channels. That distinction matters here. Retreat was a state prison, not a branch of LCCF, so the Luzerne County master inmate card is not the source for a Retreat-only state custody episode.

SCI Retreat Records Contact

There is no present SCI Retreat records counter or active institutional phone line supported by the research. Direct requests to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Central Records can guide routine inmate-record questions, while the DOC Right-to-Know office handles formal requests for existing public records.

Formal DOC Right-to-Know contact is 717-728-7763 and RA-docrighttoknow@pa.gov. Identify the person by DOC number if possible, specify the years at SCI Retreat, and name the record sought. Useful targets include a final movement record, release or discharge entry, or other existing record that identifies the next destination. Pennsylvania's records law does not make DOC create a new chronology or answer a broad research question.

SCI Retreat Closure Record

PA DOC identifies SCI Retreat as the state institution that closed in 2020. That date is the central fact for every current search. The closure does not mean the records vanished. It means custody, parole, and archive questions now belong to statewide DOC offices and the courts rather than an operating facility.

The official PA DOC discussion of facility planning confirms the historic closure. It also helps distinguish SCI Retreat from the active SCI Dallas site in the same county. A search result tied to Dallas is not a renamed Retreat result. It reflects a separate institution or later placement.

SCI Retreat Archival Search

Old records should be reconciled by source and date. A sentencing docket can show the legal basis for state custody. A DOC movement record can show arrival, transfer, parole, or discharge. A final Board Action can explain parole authority. Each record covers a different point in the chain, and none should be made to answer more than it contains.

Archived record

A retained record from the closed institution or statewide system.

Movement record

A DOC entry recording a transfer or other custody-location change.

Board Action

The final recorded state parole decision.

Release Date

A retrospective date shown for a person released from prison into DOC supervision.

For a state parole case, request the final Board Action by name, inmate or parole number, and approximate decision date. The public locator's supervised-person Release Date can corroborate that prison release occurred, but the Board Action explains the grant and conditions. A grant date alone may precede physical release.

The locator is not a complete archive of everyone who once stayed at Retreat. Inmate mode focuses on current state custody, while supervised-person mode concerns people now under PA DOC field authority. A former prisoner who completed state supervision may no longer appear in those current modes. That absence does not disprove an older institution record. Central Records, the sentencing docket, and archived movement entries remain the proper historical sources.

Retreat and Dallas Records

SCI Dallas remains active, while SCI Retreat is historical. A person can appear in records for both if DOC transferred that person during the relevant years. Do not collapse those entries into one institution. Instead, put each dated event in order and use the movement record to connect them.

The PA DOC facility account supports the Retreat closure. The official SCI Dallas page supports Dallas's current status. These two sources are more reliable than an undated directory or third-party list that still labels Retreat active.

If a current locator result gives a different prison, that current location controls only the time of the result. It does not prove where the person served every prior part of the sentence. Request the historical movement entry when that earlier placement matters.

SCI Retreat Court Evidence

The Pennsylvania UJS docket can establish the sentence, disposition, and later court activity tied to a Retreat custody episode. Read the full sentencing section and chronological entries. A phrase such as time served or an order date can explain legal authority, but it does not establish the exact prison gate event.

Pair the docket with DOC evidence. A docket plus a final movement or discharge entry provides both legal context and physical custody outcome. If parole followed, add the Board Action and supervised-person Release Date. This layered method also reduces the risk of mistaking a transfer for release.

Request SCI Retreat Release Records

A request about SCI Retreat should state that the facility is closed and identify the historical period. Include the full name, DOC number, date of birth if known, and the approximate years at Retreat. Name the existing record sought, such as the final movement entry from Retreat, a parole-release record, or a maximum-sentence discharge record. This gives Central Records a defined custody episode to search.

Ask for the destination shown on the movement record. A transfer destination may identify another Pennsylvania prison and demonstrate continued DOC custody. A parole release can identify the move to state community supervision. A maximum discharge entry can document the end of the state sentence authority. Without that destination or release type, the fact that a person left the closed institution remains incomplete.

If a Right-to-Know request is needed, send it through the Pennsylvania DOC office rather than Luzerne County. The state office handles DOC records because SCI Retreat was never a county jail. Pennsylvania law does not require an agency to make a new record or answer questions that are not recorded. Request the existing entry, allow lawful redaction, and avoid asking for an entire institutional file when a final movement record answers the question.

Search dates matter. A pre-closure docket may name Retreat while a later supervised-person result shows a release date and district office. That is not a conflict. It can reflect a sequence from prison custody to parole. A current inmate result at another institution can likewise reflect a transfer. Put the dated records in order before deciding which event was a release.

PA SAVIN may preserve a custody-change notice for a participating state case, but event wording still controls. A transfer alert is not a community release, and a past alert is not a certified archive of the full Retreat history. Use it as supporting evidence, then confirm the event through DOC. If the result shows state supervision, the district assignment and retrospective Release Date help connect the old institution record to the later community phase.