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New Jersey Department of Corrections

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New Jersey Department of Corrections
Badge of the NJDOC
Badge of the NJDOC
AbbreviationNJDOC
MottoDedication, Honor, Integrity
Agency overview
Employees24,000
Volunteers1,500[1]
Annual budget1.076 billion (2013)[2]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionNew Jersey, United States
Map of New Jersey Department of Corrections's jurisdiction
Size8,729 square miles (22,610 km2)
Population8.899 million (2013)
Legal jurisdictionState of New Jersey
Governing bodyGovernment of New Jersey
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersWhittlesey Road
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Corrections Officers6,000
Staff Members8,000
Agency executive
  • Victoria L. Kuhn, Esq., Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections
Child agencies
  • Office of the Chief of Staff
  • Division of Programs and Community Services
  • Office of the Deputy Commissioner
Units
Interfacility
  • Drug Interdiction Unit
  • Intelligence Unit
  • Fugitive Unit
  • Computer Forensic and Polygraph Unit
  • Internal Affairs Unit
  • Fleet Management Unit
  • Custody Recruitment Unit (CRU)
  • Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Compliance Unit
  • Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) Unit
  • Central Medical Unit
  • Health Services Unit
Offices
Public
  • Office of Legal Affairs & Regulatory Affairs
  • Office of Employee Relations (OER)
  • Office of the Corrections Ombudsman
  • Office of Public Information
  • Office of Human Resources
  • Office of Training
  • Office of Policy and Planning
  • Office of Financial Management
  • Office of Information Technology
  • Bureau of State Use Industries
Facilities
Prisons
13
Notables
Anniversary
  • Correction Officer Day (or "Fred Baker's Law") (July 30)
Award
  • The American Correctional Association conferred its first-ever "Innovations in Corrections Award" on Engaging the Family in the Recovery Process – An Innovative Approach for the Max-Out Offender
Website
NJDOC

The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) is the government agency responsible for operations and management of prison facilities in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Corrections operates 9 correctional facilities, 11 Residential Community Release Programs, and 1 Assessment Center. The department is headquartered in Trenton.

The NJDOC's facilities house a combined total of 20,000 inmates in minimum, medium and maximum security levels. Approximately 1,200 inmates are incarcerated, and an equal number released each month. The median term for inmates is six years. 47% of inmates are serving terms of one-to-five years; 17% are serving terms of six-to-nine years; and 33% are serving maximum sentences of 10 years or more. As of January 2003, 984 offenders were serving life sentences, including 14 offenders under death sentences (all of which have now been commuted, as capital punishment was abolished in 2007).

Jurisdiction and law enforcement authority

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New Jersey State Correctional Police Officers,[3] Parole Officers and Corrections Investigators are authorized to exercise police officer powers statewide. With this authority, Correctional Police Officers are required to enforce NJRS 2C (New Jersey Criminal Code) within the scope of their employment.[4]

New Jersey State Correctional Police Officers are authorized to carry on duty the Smith & Wesson M&P in 9×19mm Parabellum. Correction Officers may optionally qualify to carry an authorized off-duty firearm. All off-duty firearms and ammunition must conform to the approved list provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.[5]

Since the establishment of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, 24 officers have died in the line of duty.[6]

Ranks

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East Jersey State Prison
Talbot Hall

There are four sworn titles (referred to as ranks) in the New Jersey Department of Corrections:

Title Insignia Uniform Shirt Color
Major
French Blue
Lieutenant
French Blue
Sergeant
French Blue
Officer
French Blue

Media campaigns

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The New Jersey Department of Corrections established the "Be Smart Choose Freedom" television advertisement campaign in 2005. The State of New Jersey produced 30–60-second public service announcements to warn state residents against going to prison.[7] The Mississippi Department of Corrections, the state corrections agency of Mississippi, decided to start its own "Be Smart Choose Freedom" campaign and use the commercials that aired in New Jersey.[8] The NJDOC commercials were available in English, with one public service announcement also having a Spanish version.[9]

Facilities

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Open

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According to the state budget for fiscal year 2025, the Department of Corrections has capacity to house 15,590 inmates and anticipates a daily average population of 12,490 inmates. It has 5,018 employees for a personnel ratio of 1 person for every 2.6 inmates. The state legislature appropriated $866.2 million to the Department of Corrections in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, of which $562.5 million was used in salaries and wages.[10]

Prison Inmate Capacity[10] Average daily population[10] Annual per capita cost[10] Daily per capita cost[10]
New Jersey State Prison 2,084 1,448 $84,863 $214.16
East Jersey State Prison 1,497 1,364 $57,634 $157.90
South Woods State Prison 3,512 3,432 $46,814 $128.26
Bayside State Prison 1,377 1,356 $60,074 $164.59
Mid-State Correctional Facility 710 506 $82,903 $227.13
Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women 885 393 $186,964 $512.23
Northern State Prison 2,747 2,083 $58,836 $161.20
Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center 692 428 $122,785 $336.40
Garden State Youth Correctional Facility 2,086 1,375 $94,135 $257.92

Defunct

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Death row

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See also: Capital punishment in New Jersey

Prior to the 2007 repeal of the death penalty, the death row for men and the execution chamber were in the Capital Sentence Unit (CSU) at the New Jersey State Prison. This unit was first established in 1907.[11] The first death by electrocution occurred on December 11, 1907.[11] On December 17, 2007, Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill passed by the New Jersey General Assembly passed which abolishes the death penalty, making New Jersey the first state to legislatively eliminate capital punishment since 1965.[12] The day prior, December 16, 2007, Governor Corzine commuted the death sentences of the remaining eight men on death row to "life imprisonment without parole".[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Department of Corrections and State Parole Board FY 2014–2015" (PDF). Testimony before the Senate and Assembly Committees. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  2. ^ "10. PUBLIC SAFETY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 19. CENTRAL PLANNING, DIRECTION AND MANAGEMENT" (PDF). State of New Jersey. Treasury Department. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. ^ "Job Specification - Correctional Police Officer".
  4. ^ NJRS 2A:154-4 Correctional Police, parole officers, corrections investigators authorized to exercise police powers
  5. ^ N.J.A.C. 10A:3–4 Use of firearms while on-duty and use of personal firearms while off-duty
  6. ^ The Officer Down Memorial Page
  7. ^ Fedkenheuer, Deirdre. "Be Smart – Choose Freedom: New Jersey unveils its crime prevention campaign." Corrections Today. April 2005. 1. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  8. ^ "Be Smart. Choose Freedom. Archived 2 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine" Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  9. ^ "Welcome to New Jersey's Department of Corrections." New Jersey Department of Corrections. March 2, 2005. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  10. ^ a b c d e Office of Management and Budget (New Jersey Department of the Treasury), "Department and Branch Recommendations: Corrections" in State of New Jersey: The Governor's FY2025 Detailed Budget, February 27, 2024, D-83 through D-87. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Historical Data on Capital Sentence Unit at New Jersey State Prison" (Archive). New Jersey Department of Corrections. May 18, 2005. Retrieved on March 21, 2016.
  12. ^ "Executions News and Developments: 2007". Death Penalty Information Center. 2008. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  13. ^ "N.J. abolishes the death penalty". Daily News. New York.
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