NCJ Number
81523
Date Published
1981
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This annual report of the New Jersey Department of Corrections for fiscal year 1981 describes the mission and presents the major developments for each office and division for the year.
Abstract
The offices are those of the commissioner and the deputy commissioner, and the divisions are those of administration, adult institutions, juvenile services, and policy and planning. The principal issue confronting the department has been overcrowding in the adult and juvenile correctional institutions and increases in the caseloads of the Bureau of Parole. It seems clear that the new Penal Code and the Parole Act, both of which were implemented in fiscal 1980, had a significant impact on the operations and the populations of offenders under the care and custody of the department. The Penal Code established a new sentencing structure, including mandatory minimum sentences and fixed ranges for various categories of offenses. One of the consequences of the Parole Act has been the establishment of rules and regulations which standardize the parole process throughout the department. A significant development has been the implementation of the plan to separate juvenile offenders from adult offenders in the various institutions. The rebuilding of the Trenton State Prison continues on schedule and should be completed in the next fiscal year. A number of units in the department achieved accreditation status. To date, the Adult Diagnostic Treatment Center at Avenel, the Bureau of Parole, the Youth Correctional Institution at Bordentown, and the Community Service Center in Newark have all been accredited. The department has embarked on a major effort to develop plans with several county correctional systems to assist in housing State-committed offenders in county jails. In order to mitigate the overcrowding, the department was instrumental in securing funds to purchase trailers to help absorb the increased admissions to the institutions. Organizational charts are provided for the department, its offices, and each division. (Author summary modified)