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| Lawmaker calls for task force on prison gangs |
| By Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Published: 01/24/2005 |
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Prompted by a brawl between Bayside State Prison officers and members of the Bloods street gang, several South Jersey legislators have called for hearings and one plans to introduce a bill to create a gang-violence task force. Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew (D., Cape May) released a draft of a bill that calls for the creation of a task force of current and former corrections officers, gang experts, and other specialists. He said he planned to introduce it within a week. More than two dozen officers at Cumberland County prison were injured in the New Year's Day melee, apparently after an officer confronted a Bloods gang member over some contraband, Van Drew said. Gang members used makeshift weapons, such as brooms and sticks, to tangle with officers. The fight happened in a section of trailers that cannot be completely secured without closing the fire exits, Van Drew said. Inmates in other trailers went through the fire exits and climbed over fences to join the brawl, he said. The medium-security prison was locked down for a day, and about 25 inmates were transferred to other prisons, corrections officials said. Several state senators, including Stephen M. Sweeney (D., Gloucester), have called for hearings into the brawl. Van Drew is advocating a "comprehensive review" of Department of Corrections policy, "especially as it relates to gangs." One New Jersey prison, Northern State Prison in Newark, has a special unit for gang members. That unit is full, Van Drew said, so gang members are sent to prisons that do not have specialized units. The task force would study a number of issues, such as training, intelligence gathering and weapons searches, Van Drew said. The task force would also explore the use of safety vests and isolation units. Van Drew said Bayside did not use its isolation, or lockup, unit. He said inmates there might be "more willing to get involved in a confrontation" because they knew they would not be thrown into isolation. |
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