Watchdog finds filth, run-down conditions at state prison for young men

A New Jersey state prison that houses young men had expired fire extinguishers, caked-on grime in the showers, and filthy, understaffed kitchens where water riddled with garbage and food scraps pooled on the floor, according to a new report a state watchdog released Tuesday.

State Corrections Ombudsperson Terry Schuster and his staff also found that most of those incarcerated at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Burlington County had no pillows and were double-bunked in cells designed for single occupancy.

Many reported they lived without essential items like a towel, bedding, or change of clothes and sometimes encountered rodents and insects. Incarcerated people did not receive drinks with lunch or dinner during sultry summer months when temperatures on housing units sometimes topped 90 degrees, inspectors found.

Staff from the ombudsperson’s office, who inspect state prisons and advocate for improvements, visited the Garden State Youth facility several times between last July and March, interviewed staff and people incarcerated there, and reviewed records to draft the report released Tuesday.

The prison, which opened in 1967, houses more than 1,000 young men generally in their early 20s and most of whom are serving short sentences of a few years. Many were not engaged in meaningful work, rehabilitative programs, or school, inspectors found.

Schuster and his staff reported that Department of Corrections officials have since fixed some of the problems they brought to the state’s attention in the report, including replacing the fire extinguishers, ordering 1,200 pillows, improving shower ventilation, cleaning kitchens, and serving juice with meals. A larger capital construction project to renovate kitchen space was funded, with planning now underway.

“The Office would like to add to the chorus of voices calling for additional capital improvement funds to repair, replace, and maintain the infrastructure at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, and applauds the Department for continuing to seek the funding it needs to provide a habitable and structurally sound facility,” the report says.

Schuster and his staff made several recommendations for further improvements, calling on the department to develop a strategic plan to limit double-bunking in small cells, regularly inventory cells for their maintenance needs and missing essential items, routinely audit food services, and establish incentives to increase work and school participation.

A Department of Corrections spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.