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Opinions differ on state of county jail
Leaders tout success after two
years, but officers tell another story
Sunday, April 02, 2006
BY JONATHAN CASIANO
Star-Ledger Staff
Ask the Essex County Jail's administration about the first
two years in its new $416 million facility, and it will hand over a glossy, spiral-bound report and CD-Rom with color-coded
bar graphs and pie charts chronicling everything from overtime pay to the jail diet.
It's a professional response from a corrections department
striving for a professional reputation. This year, the jail will make its first pitch for accreditation from the American
Correctional Association, a distinction never awarded to the county's two old jails in Newark and Caldwell. There is also
hope that a pair of 20-year-old federal consent orders mandating better treatment for inmates may be lifted by early next
year.
The fact that the jail is even approaching those goals
demonstrates the strides the facility has made since opening two years ago, jail officials say. Senior officers are receiving
more specialized training and new recruits are attending the county police academy. Overtime costs are down, as are the numbers
of inmate infractions and emergency ambulance trips, a testament to the jail's on-site medical facilities.
Inmates are staying longer, but officials say it's because
the jail's upgraded computer system enables staff to more thoroughly search for open warrants before a prisoner is released.
"Compared to where we were, the numbers speak for themselves,"
said County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. "We're moving in the right direction."
Yet, officers behind the wall tell a different story,
the tale of an overcrowded, loosely disciplined jail where street gangs call the shots and violent attacks are the norm. They
say the direct supervision model -- which locks a single officer inside a housing unit where as many as 32 inmates congregate
freely -- has been a dangerous failure and cite fear of working the "pods" as the main reason why a quarter of the jail's
officers have left since its opening.
"Inmate violence is at uncontrollable levels," Joseph
Amato, president of PBA Local 382, the union representing officers at the jail, wrote in a news release last Thursday.
"Rather than accept those incidents as a true concern,
the administration writes it off as officer weakness or lack of work ethic amongst correction officers. But the truth of the
matter is that they built a jail that's nothing more than a gang-infested war zone," added Amato, who is requesting a jail
investigation by the U.S. attorney and the governor's office.
The accusations are strongly rejected by Essex County
Corrections Director Scott Faunce and Jail Warden Larry Glover, who attribute them to a "small cadre" of veteran officers
who have stubbornly opposed adapting to the new system. They say the new crop of officers brought in since the jail's opening
have fared just fine, and they bristle at suggestions that the jail is controlled by inmates, saying inmate infractions dropped
20 percent in 2005.
"If they feel unsafe, they can document it and we will
address it, but I haven't seen it, nor has it been documented," Faunce said.
"I don't believe there's been anything submitted by any
supervisor that there's an area that's not safe," Glover added.
Still, recent events indicate that the officers' claims
may have some merit. In March, six inmates were taken to the hospital for treatment after being assaulted. One of those inmates,
23-year-old Alfred Burney, was beaten in his cell by four other inmates on March 11 and knocked unconscious. He remained in
a coma for 11 days and is still recovering. It's perhaps the most serious assault since last May, when an inmate was stabbed
in the head hours after being acquitted on murder charges.
Officials are also still unable to explain how a handgun
and ammunition made its way into the jail's property room in January. It was the second gun found inside the jail since its
opening. In addition, inmates have been found with cell phones, battery chargers and, in one case, a steel hunting knife in
their cells.
Lt. John Follo, president of FOP Local 106, the
union representing superior officers at the jail, said the administration can insist that the facility is safe only for so
long.
"The place is a time bomb," said Follo,
a 25-year veteran of the department. "Inmates are getting beat up almost on a daily basis. Inmates are requesting protective
custody on a daily basis. On these pods, only the strong survive."
Though most county residents will never set foot inside
the jail's gates, the Newark facility is the largest single expense, aside from debt payments, in Essex County's budget. Its
annual cost of $73.9 million is more than the Sheriff's Department's and Prosecutor's Office's combined. With 627 guards,
supervisors and civilian workers, it is also county government's second-largest employer, trumped only by the county's welfare
division.
It is the largest county jail in the state and has more
cells than all but one New Jersey state prison. With an average population that fluctuates between 1,800 and 2,300 inmates,
it is also one of the largest jails in the nation.
Because of its size, officers argue that the jail should
be run more like a state prison, with the most violent offenders housed in segregated lockdown units.
"There are inmates in our facility who have
nothing to lose, guys going away for 45, 60, 70 years," Follo said. "We've got a guy in there (charged) with eight homicides
and he walks as freely as you and I. There's got to be some kind of segregation."
However, with the vast majority of inmates awaiting trial,
their presumed innocence prevents that kind of pre-sentencing detention.
"I'm not going to violate an inmate's rights if they can't
document that he's a threat to the facility," Glover said. "Some officers want to lock inmates up for 24 hours, but it's not
going to happen."
Despite the controversies, jail officials say they're
pushing ahead, authorizing more training, hiring more new officers and instituting more programming to engage the inmates.
DiVincenzo is also exploring the possibility of starting a night court at the jail to get inmates in and out faster.
And as the jail moves forward, Faunce said the staff is
going to have to come along.
"Facilities like this are being built across the country.
This is what you're going to see for the next century in corrections," he said. "The days of locking inmates in a cell and
warehousing them are over."
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Essex County PBA Local 382
Memorandum
October 15, 2006
To All Members & Other Interested Parties:
On September 20, 2006, the entire State PBA came out to support our local membership and to protest the unsafe
operations of the Essex County Jail.
The protest was a success, but admittedly a radical action taken by our local due to the fact that our written
complaints to the administration were ignored for two and a half years, so we had no choice but to bring public and political
attention to our plight of uncontrolled inmate violence and officer demoralization.
I'm happy to announce that our complaints have finally hit their mark and for the past week or so, the
Essex County Jail has been undergoing a complete lock down and a methodical search of each and every inmate,
cell, housing unit, common area, etc, and this lock down/search is expected to continue until every crevice of the jail
is searched and free of contraband, weapons and avoidable danger for all jail personnel as well as compliant inmates.
I would not be at liberty to divulge any particulars in this public communication, but I can say with complete
confidence that this long overdue action taken by jail personnel has so far been extremely successful,
eye opening and has produced tremendous amounts of contraband and weapons, but has also sent several messages which were
equally important.
*A message was sent to the administration that corrections officers were at their wits end and that status
quo in jail operations as they were, was not an option.
*A message was sent to the inmates that their violent actions will no longer be tolerated and total
compliance is their only option.
*A message was sent to the entire county that correctional personnel were ready willing and
able to undertake this monumental task and to take the jail back from gang activity and violence when the call
came, and from this point on and with the administrations continued help and support, our jail will continue to prosper in
this new found sense of inmate control and officer motivation and protection.
I wish to call attention and to thank and congratulate the uniformed officers from all ranks who have worked
literally around the clock for the past week and will continue to work countless hours until this
task is completed and its important to note that our own officers have done a tremendous job with no outside help or manpower.
This goes to show that Essex County Correction Officers have remained dedicated to their job and have
remained diligent in their duties despite some harsh criticism that was unfortunately brought on by our continued public
cries for help.
I can only hope that what's taken place in our jail over the past week will set the agenda and standards for
our future, because as encouraging as this was to finally see the jail brought back from the brink of disaster, it
was only one step in the right direction on the long road to reform.
*Violent and gang related inmates must continuously be reminded that they are incarcerated for a reason and
their violent tendencies will not go un-addressed.
*Inmates who conform to authority and avoid violence must be assured that they will be protected.
*Correction officers legitimate concerns for our well being and overall safety must be of the utmost
importance and staffing must be brought up to acceptable standards to ensure that those safety concerns are met. If we continue
to leave correction officers virtually stranded and isolated on these housing units with no immediate support personnel
behind them, it would be impossible to ensure that our jail won't slip back into a state of chaos.
Once the jail can operate on a continued level of officer safety and inmate compliance,
it would be inevitable that we will see a marked improvement in officer retention, officer morale, and a marked decrease in
officer resignations and early disability retirements.
In other words...we will see an end to the revolving door of correctional personnel, and
once we have a fully trained staff in place who are supported, confident and motivated, and who will look
at the job of an Essex County Correction Officer as a long term option, it will send a message to the inmates that we "are"
and "will remain" in control of our jail through pride and dedication and we can't be compromised.
I have admittedly been very quick to complain in defense and out of concern for our officers safety and with
good reason, but I assure you that I will also be very quick to work cooperatively with the administration as long as I can
assure our membership that they can go to work every day in an environment free of all avoidable danger and
will continue to be respected, supported and protected.
Only time will tell, but for now the PBA is very grateful for the actions taken thus far and we will continue
to keep all interested parties updated on our anticipated progress.
Thank you for your time and continued support.
Respectfully,
Joseph Amato
President, PBA Local 382
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Essex jail swept for homemade weapons
Week-long probe uncovers dozens of shivs, shanks
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
BY JONATHAN CASIANO Star-Ledger Staff Roughly three-dozen homemade weapons have been found hidden in prisoners' cells in the Essex County Jail over the past
week as officials conduct what they call the most sweeping search of the facility since it opened 2 1/2 years ago.
The jail, on Doremus Avenue in Newark, remained in a "modified lock down" state for the seventh consecutive day yesterday, with all 2,200 prisoners
kept in their cells except those needed to work in the laundry room, cafeteria or infirmary.
Jail Director Scott Faunce said certain units that had been searched were being slowly re turned to normal, though he expected
portions of the jail to re main locked down for several more days.
Faunce said the search was launched last Wednesday afternoon in response to "several investigations that are ongoing" inside
the jail. He would not elaborate on what those investigations had revealed.
Faunce also said the search had nothing to do with letters found among state inmates over the summer alleging firearms
were stashed in some of the state's prisons.
Though two guns have been found behind jail walls since the facility opened in March 2004, Faunce said this sweep was mainly
looking for more common prison weapons, such as homemade shanks, and other contraband.
"This wasn't driven by anything that far off the wall. We just wanted to sanitize the facility, make it safe and see what's
there," Faunce said. "We're looking for weapons, but we're looking for shivs and shanks. It's not a search for guns."
The search has been fruitful, with officers working overtime and uncovering "several dozen" shanks, Faunce said. The weapons
have ranged from simple pieces of bare wire to sharpened metal strips attached to hard-cloth handles.
But so far the staff hasn't found anything to indicate widespread smuggling at the jail. No store- bought knives, prepaid
cell phones or illegal drugs have turned up.
For a jail where several officers have been charged and convicted of smuggling those very items, the fact that they were
not found during the latest sweep appears encouraging.
"You go back several years and you did have a rash of telephones and other illegal items, and we had several investigations
into employees trafficking contraband into the institution," Faunce said. "That does not mirror the employee work force here
today."
The jail's officers' union, which protested last month against unsafe working conditions at the facility, applauded the
search as a "step in the right direction."
"The officers are very motivated to know that the jail is finally tak ing a proactive stance and taking preventative measures,"
said Joe Amato, president
of Police Benevolent Association Local 382. "We just hope it's part of a long-term agenda because prevention is 90 percent
of the game."
Still, as productive as the sweep has been, it's also reminded those at the jail that in a massive correctional facility
it's nearly impossible to prevent everything.
On Monday, an inmate stabbed his cell mate with a jailhouse shank fashioned from a plastic toothbrush handle. Though their
housing unit had been swept for weapons, it did not take long for the in mate to turn his toothbrush into a potent weapon
by sharpening it on the concrete floor.
Faunce noted that because of the search, the inmate didn't get attacked with something more lethal, such as a sharpened
piece of metal. But he said his staff must re main vigilant.
"Finding three dozen or better weapons in this facility, it's not shocking, but I don't like it," he said. "I'd like to
see zero, and we're going to keep working in that direction."
****************************************************
PBA Local 382
Bulletin
April 26, 2007
Dear Members & Other Interested Parties:
The video link above will take you to a news account of a very unfortunate incident that occurred Wednesday night between
two of our own officers and a group of cowards who according to the Newark PD were on an armed robbery spree all day on the streets of Newark.
Their luck ran out when they tried to rob a group of individuals at gunpoint, which happened to include two Essex County
Correction Officers.
After arriving on the scene a short time after the incident, it was very clear to me that this was in fact a miracle
that we didn't have a tragedy on our hands.
I personally applaud our two officers who not only were able to save themselves, but their actions also saved the lives
of three of their civilian friends.
Unfortunately the thugs were able to get away after shots were exchanged, but the police have some leads and we can only
hope that these individuals will be apprehended soon.
Its unknown at this time if any of the assailants were struck in the gunfire, and luckily one of our officers only received
a very superficial abrasion on his face, but that abrasion was the result of shot gun blast which thankfully missed him from
approximately 7 feet away and that's a true miracle.
God Bless our two brave officers who acted professionally and responsibly in the face of grave personal danger.
Respectfully,
Joseph Amato, President
PBA Local 382
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