The Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic has made revisions to its escape policy for future prison breaks, officials said, including the addition of a procedure for using Facebook and Twitter to warn the Santa Clarita Valley.

In the past, Pitchess has relied on its six “World War II era” sirens located in the western Santa Clarita Valley, which extend as far as the Valencia Industrial Center on Tourney Road, Sheriff’s officials said.

In the event of a prisoner escaping, the six sirens would go off throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and a description of the escapee would be put on freeway signs, according to officials.

Now, in addition to the sirens, Pitchess Detention Center employees will post about the incident on their social media. Much like the electronic freeway signs that are already used in the event of a breakout, Pitchess’ official Facebook and Twitter accounts will post the name and description of the prisoner.

“With the help of social media and local media, we are able to get the word out to the public faster,” said Sgt. Sean Walters with the Pitchess Detention Center.

In April, Pitchess Detention Center officials conducted a prison break drill, and activated the sirens to test their functionality. Officials plan on conducting a similar test sometime this summer.

“We plan on doing additional drills during the summer on the prison grounds, and one that will involve activating the sirens,” Walters said. “However, we will notify the public in advance, before the drill takes place.”

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