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BY JOE AMATO
COMMENTARY
Since we were old enough to understand right from wrong, we were all taught a very important life lesson, which is that "Crime Doesn't Pay," but for some very cunning and self serving people who have formed an unholy bond between government and the private prison industry, the premise that crime doesn't pay has been lost in a sea of profit driven politics and corporate greed.
These self serving entrepreneurs who operate these profit based, mismanaged, failed and discounted jail systems, such as Community Education Centers Inc. based in an affluent N.J. suburb, have been drooling like rabid dogs to get their hands on the legitimate and government controlled correctional system in N.J. and we currently have a few local governmental bodies in Essex County and Camden County who have welcomed the idea of turning over our model correctional system to the control of jail profiteers, who look at incarcerated human beings as nothing more than dollar signs.
The "incarcerated" are an unfortunate part of society that no one wants to talk about and who obviously weren't listening when someone told them that "crime doesn't pay" and for their mistakes in life, they have been temporarily or permanently placed under the control of the State Department of Corrections or a respective county jail to await trial, and shame on those who have found a way to "cash in on crime" by putting a price tag and a profit margin on what inherently is and needs to remain a governmental function and responsibility.Crime Does In Fact Pay for those who know how to exploit these incarcerated members of society and who have perfected the art of playing on the financial fears of the taxpayers for their own personal financial and/or political gain and companies like CEC have built a financial empire by doing so, but they can't do it alone and CEC needs careless and equally self serving politicians to open the door for them.
It's not only unethical for both CEC and politicians to personally profit from the exploitation of inmates through awarded public contracts and political donations, but when a politician takes an oath to serve the particular community in which they are elected and swears to take on all the responsibilities that go with that elected office, the taxpayers and especially those taxpayers who may unfortunately have incarcerated family members, should not allow their elected officials to simply sell off those governmental and elected responsibilities to the lowest bidder.
Public safety and the correctional portion of our criminal justice system in New Jersey are not for sale, but obviously Essex and Camden County officials want to test those waters.
For all intents and purposes...Essex County Officials have already sold off a very large portion of their inmates to the lowest bidder CEC who operates several of these private inmate warehouses, which have been riddled with criminal activity of all sorts including murder and as we speak, Camden County Officials intend to go down that same dangerous road by possibly placing their entire county inmate population and county jail on the CEC selling block.
It's a clear case of putting personal politics and corporate profit ahead of public safety and if elected officials can't deal with the pressure of the office in which they were elected, they should step down or be removed from office if their only answer to crime within their communities is to sell the criminals to a private vendor.
Joe Amato represents officers at the Essex County Department of Corrections as the president of PBA Local 382
From the standpoint of 'inmates' interred in correctionaal facilities, once the facility is privatized, what happens to them inside the facilities remains unknown by the public. This lack of transparency means, for politicians in particular, correctional problems magically disappear! But for most inmates, it is a different story.
You state that CEC mistreats the inmates..... what do you call guards who physical and verbally abuse inmates on a daily basis............. correction? What about forcing inmates to sleep in a bullpen for days or weeks on the floor crammed with other men? The last time an inmate was assaulted at Delaney for no reason was when one of your guards was moonlighting at Delaney.
CEC facilities may not be perfect but it does not compare to what happens in county and state run facilities on a daily basis. Why don't you take your hard on for Delaney and turn it to improving what goes on in your "home".
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
STAR-LEDGER STAFF
Three prison officers are under investigation for allegedly threatening to electrocute a mentally ill inmate during an interrogation and 19 more face disciplinary charges in connection with the case, union officials said.
The investigation stems from an alleged incident on Oct. 3 at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, a specialized prison that provides treatment to more than 650 sex offenders, including those with mental illnesses.
Union leaders said the officers are innocent and criticized the lengthy investigation, saying the prison's leadership jumped the gun on unsubstantiated information.
"We do not condone inappropriate activity against inmates," said Raymond Heck, the prison's top representative from Policemen's Benevolent Assocation Local 105, which represents rank-and-file prison officers. "But it's all based on rumors and innuendo."
Deirdre Fedkenheuer, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, confirmed the internal probe but did not provide specifics.
The three officers under investigation -- Sgt. Steven Russo, Sgt. Mark Percoco and Officer Edward Aponte -- have been suspended with pay since October while the probe continues, union leaders said.
The Department of Corrections has not charged them, but the probe has focused on the questioning of an inmate with special needs at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, according to union officials with knowledge of the investigation.
The officers were accused of threatening to electrocute the inmate with an electronic chair used to scan inmates for contraband, Heck said.
Two other union officials with knowledge of the investigation said the incident involved an elaborate ruse where the officers asked another inmate to sit in the chair and pretend to be electrocuted in order to scare their mentally ill target. Neither official was authorized to speak on the record.
Edward Sullivan, executive vice president of the Superior Officers Association, which represents lieutenants, said there were no cameras inside the room, which is located near the loading docks and is used for inmate searches. Outside the room, a video camera recorded other officers walking nearby, he said.
Nineteen of the officers -- three of them lieutenants -- now face 120-day suspensions without pay, union officials said. They are still on the job while their charges are appealed.
Sullivan said the three lieutenants were charged with conduct unbecoming and failure to follow proper procedure. One of the lieutenants was the shift commander when the alleged incident occurred, he said. Heck said the other 16 officers were charged with conduct unbecoming for not stopping the alleged incident.
Sullivan said the department was correct to open an investigation, but said the slow pace shows it doesn't have strong evidence against the officers.
"The department is very closed-lipped," he said. "My gut feeling is they don't have a case."
The three officers under investigation for allegedly threatening the inmate with electrocution each have at least 19 years on the job, according to state records. "These types of individuals are distinguished officers," Heck said. "They are role models for the institution."
Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the organization is not directly involved in the case. But, she said, the department seems to be taking the allegations seriously.
"This is an opportunity not only to hold those who committed this act responsible, but also to ensure there are training and systems in place to make sure it doesn't happen again," she said.
Chris Megerian may be reached at (609) 989-0208 or cmegerian@starledger.com.
©2010 Star Ledger
© 2010 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
I agree that the SCI report was a disgrace, but if you noticed on much of the media reports that covered the issue, the PBA reps had no problem stating that the issue needs to be dealt with head on while corrections officials took the no comment approach.
When a politician or one of their appointees says no comment, it means that their ability to lead isnt worth the ink on their paychecks.
I can only hope that Christie brings some new and innovative people to the table when he begins to rebuild the NJDOC and doesn't allow the same old lap dogs to remain in power.
We have a jail in Essex and a "jail annex" next door (CEC/Delaney Hall) that's been riddled with death, murder, escapes, overcrowding, weapons, gang violence, cell phones etc and year after year the state DOC marches in for an inspection and gives both places a 100% compliance ratings.
Tell me again who's at fault. The unions or the political bureaucracy?
However, for people involved in the prison systems to come on this site and pontificate about the evils of privatization is hypocritical.
YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!
The taxpayers and the politicians have noticed that those who work in the system right now are doing a poor job. The State Commission of Investigation revealed that the prisons are run by gangs simply because there are too many Dirty employees who supply the inmate gang members with drugs ,and cell phones. Yet the Corrections Unions have done nothing to stop this embarrassment. The taxpayers have heard how recidivism rates have remained high despite the fact that they pay $1.1 Billion to keep people in jail. Yet the employee unions have NEVER ONCE fought for more of that huge sum of money to be diverted a little more fairly. Less than 2% of the Corrections budget is spent on job training education of inmates.
So it is only natural for taxpayers and politicians to say " why not pay less and get the same result? " Can you blame them when the people who currently work in the Correctional systems will not even police themselves from abuse?
Maybe the PBA,FOP,CWA ,and any other unions involved in the Correctional system should clean up their own mess first. There are many good people ,hard working people ,who want to do a good job. People who have good ideas to increase ,safety,security, education,etc. but who are knocked down by the greedy and the "dirty" .
Privatization is being talked about because it has been allowed to become a subject. That is a damn shame.
Let it be known that there is a Zoning Board meeting in Camden City Hall Jan 4th5:30pm CEC is the Co who is trying to build a Privattized Jail on Mt Ephraim ave in Camden. We need everyones support to come out to this meeting and support the PBA 351 and Civilians who work at CCCF. The new elected Mayor Dana Redd in her own words in the Front Page Courier Post Dated Dec 21 2009 said,"to turn around and construct another facility seems contradictory" Also "Im not sure I would want to put it in Camden at all" Redd said. Redd said she is opposed to the Mt Ephraim ave site because it could negatively affect housing values and the vibrant business district there!
Even if one does not ask or pretends not to see the rope and the flashing red flag draped around the philosophical question standing solemnly at attention in the middle of the room, it remains apparent that the mere presence of a private “for profit” driven prison business in our country undermines the U.S Constitution and subsequently the credibility of the American criminal justice system. In fact, until all private prisons in America have been abolished and outlawed, “the promise” of fairness and justice at every level of this country’s judicial system will remain unattainable. We must restore the principles and the vacant promise of our judicial system. Our government cannot continue to "job-out" its obligation and neglect its duty to the individuals confined in the correctional and rehabilitation facilities throughout this nation, nor can it ignore the will of the people that it was designed to serve and protect. There is urgent need for the good people of this country to emerge from the shadows of indifference, apathy, cynicism, fear, and those other dark places that we migrate to when we are overwhelmed by frustration and the loss of hope. My hope is that you will support the National Public Service Council to Abolish Private Prisons (NPSCTAPP) with a show of solidarity by signing "The Single Voice Petition"
http://www.petitiononline.com/gufree2/petition.html
Please visit our website for further information: http://www.npsctapp.blogspot.com
–Ahma Daeus
"Practicing Humanity Without A License"…