NCJ Number
106726
Date Published
1984
Length
65 pages
Annotation
Testimony at this public hearing addresses security for minimum-security inmates at New Jersey's Rahway Prison to prevent escapes into the surrounding community of Woodbridge Township.
Abstract
Testimony is presented by the Woodbridge mayor, the county prosecutor, the commissioner of the State Department of Corrections, the prison superintendent, other corrections officials, and a representative of Citizens for Community Corrections. Testimony documents the problem of inmates escaping from the prison and the work gangs such that Woodbridge citizens are concerned about their safety. Witnesses assess the real danger of such escapes and various security measures that might be taken. Some security suggestions are requiring inmates to wear distinctive uniforms at all times (inmates currently wear regular clothes) so they may be easily identified should they escape, armed patrols on roads in the prison's vicinity, two-way communication between corrections officers inside and outside the prison, and the use of an infrared alarm system on the prison's perimeter. Various security measures that have already been taken are reviewed.