Special Housing Units At Essex County Prison: Public Meeting – Patch

The Essex County Correctional Facility Civilian Task Force will host a public meeting on Saturday, Jan. 29 to discuss the use of special housing units at the Essex County Correctional Facility.

Because of the pandemic and rising cases of the omicron variant, the meeting will be held remotely.

The meeting will be held as follows:

Individuals who would like to offer comment or questions during meeting may register at https://forms.gle/mmPmgNh4eFogBDFN7. Following registration, members of the public will receive a Zoom link and further details for participation. Individuals will be admitted into the virtual meeting only for the duration of their comments.

The public comment portion will be held from 11:30 a.m. to noon, time permitting. Comments will be limited to three minutes. This meeting and public comments will be limited to discussion regarding Special Housing Units at the ECCF.

The Civilian Task Force will discuss the use of special housing units and the policies regarding it that are in place at the ECCF. Inmates can be placed in special housing units when they exhibit violent or disruptive behavior and are removed from the general population.

“We look forward to the professionals at the Essex County Correctional Facility sharing their insights about the use of special housing units and to comments from the public. This input will help us in our goal of ensuring that the Correctional Facility provides the safest and securest environment for those who are housed there,” said Task Force Chairman Jim McGreevey, who also is a former governor and executive director of the NJEC.

Previous meetings of the Civilian Task Force focused on medical and mental health services provided at the ECCF – women’s health issues and treatment of substance use disorders included – the experiences shared by former residents of the facility, their family members or representatives, and grievance procedures.

Those wishing to contact the Civilian Task Force, submit a complaint or want more information about the public meeting should e-mail to JailTaskForce@admin.essexcountynj.org or call 973-877-8037. For more information about the Task Force, visit www.essexcountynj.org/corrections/ and click on the link for the “Civilian Task Force.”

The intent of the nine-member task force is to provide “transparency and accountability” to protect the “lives, health, safety and rights of all people confined at the ECCF” and ensure the “conditions of their confinement are safe, sanitary, respectful and humane,” according to language in the ordinance. It will act independently of county government and have the authority to inspect the ECCF, interview corrections officers, inmates, detainees, and review systematic issues and concerns.

Members of the Task Force were nominated by Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. and appointed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders in June 2020 through an established advice and consent procedure that is used to fill vacancies on all county boards and commissions.

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