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| N.J. County's $416 Million 'Megajail' to Open Jan. 1 |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/06/2003 |
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''Its a megajail,'' said Phil Austin, project manager for the $416 million jail's security consultant, Norment Security Group of Alabama. At 2,300 beds, it will be one of the nation's biggest county jails, said Austin, a 20-year veteran of the corrections business. Two of New Jersey's 14 state prisons are larger: Southwoods State Prison, Bridgeton, with 3,352 beds, and Northern State Prison, Newark, with 2,684 beds. Essex County has the state's busiest criminal docket, with 7,996 Superior Court cases in the year ending June 30. The second-busiest county, Hudson, had 5,020 cases during the same period. The new jail will be run from a computerized three-story control room, with two backup computer systems. Even the color scheme is high-tech, with lavender walls intended to create a friendly atmosphere that enhances safety for officers and inmates. The facility also will have its own power plant, backup generators and a link to the region's power grid. Emergency battery power will be available if all three power sources fail. The jail will replace two facilities that house about 2,500 prisoners. The jail in the county justice complex in downtown Newark holds about 650 and was built in the early 1970s. The annex is an 1,800-bed facility, and part of it dates back to the mid-19th century. The new jail is the product of a federal class action suit filed by the state Office of Inmate Advocacy in 1982 on behalf of inmates in the two older facilities. The lawsuit charged the jails amounted to punitive conditions for prisoners not yet convicted and were unconstitutional. County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. said the new jail will save $5 million a year because it's more efficient. Video-conferencing technology, for example, will save money on transporting prisoners to and from court. The transition to the new jail will take about five months after its January opening, said DiVincenzo, who was joined on a tour of the unfinished jail recently by reporters and local officials. |
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