State unable to combat prison gangs for lack of funding, manpower

State unable to combat prison gangs for lack of funding, manpower
Posted by glubin July 19, 2009 07:14AM

State investigators say they're losing ground in the fight to control gangs in New Jersey prisons because they don't have enough manpower and funding.

The criticism of operations at the prisons, leveled by unions representing investigators and corrections officers, comes two months after the State Commission of Investigation said the state was failing to stop inmates from smuggling drugs, communicating with illegal cell phones and coordinating criminal activity from behind bars

Union leaders said the Department of Corrections' approximately 100-member Special Investigations Division has lost nine people in three years and operates without a chief. Each prison has only one investigator monitoring gang activity, and a single person analyzes confiscated cell phones for the entire department, they said.

"It's becoming very difficult for us to do our job," said Neil Layden, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 174, which represents 92 Corrections investigators. "We don't have the funding nor the people."

In May the SCI, which reports to the Legislature, released a report saying prisons are like a "branch office" for gang members and calling the situation "intolerable."

The SCI also said prison investigators are overwhelmed: "Given the magnitude and multiplicity of its responsibilities, (the Special Investigations Division) is undersized, insufficiently funded and, as currently structured, unable to effectively and efficiently fulfill its vital mission, particularly with regard to suppressing gang activity."

Layden is concerned the SCI report has fallen on deaf ears.

"It seems like it's not going anywhere," he said. "We talked to everyone who would listen."

Corrections Commissioner George Hayman declined to comment for this report, as did the highest-ranking investigator, Assistant Chief Wayne Everett.

After the SCI report was released, Hayman issued a statement saying Corrections is "dealing proactively" with its gang problem. "We continue to house an offender population -- bent toward violence and power struggles -- with a minimum of disturbances," he said.

The department declined to comment on staffing or equipment within the division.

"It would not be in the best interests of safety and security to disclose this information in a public forum," Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer said.

Fedkenheuer also said the investigators do not have a set budget and she could not say how much is spent on the division.

Like much of state government, Corrections was hit by the budget crunch. Its funding dropped by about $40 million to $1.156 billion.

Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen), chairman of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee, said he intends to hold a hearing following up on the SCI report when the Legislature convenes again later this year.

Johnson said the state should explore new ways to deter cell phone use, but didn't criticize Corrections or Hayman.

"I think he is doing all that he can," Johnson said. "This is a major problem that takes time to address."

Assemblyman David Rible (R-Monmouth) has twice called for a hearing on the report. Echoing SCI's findings, he said prisons "are being run as corporate headquarters for the gangs."

"When you're being sentenced to prison, it's supposed to be a rehabilitation time period, as well as paying time for your crime," Rible said. "I don't think you should be in there accelerating crime outside the jail."

Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said the department was "among the first" to use dogs to detect cell phones, finding 118 phones, 21 batteries and 121 chargers since October. He also said Hayman supports changes to federal regulations that would allow the jamming of cell phone signals in prisons.

Wayne Robbins, Lodge 174's vice president and a principal investigator in Corrections, said cell phones are so prevalent, inmates don't even worry when one is taken away.

"They'll say all right, I got my next one coming in," he said.

Meanwhile, Robbins said each investigative unit has to share one cell phone among a half-dozen investigators.

"Inmates have better cellular capabilities than we do," he said.

Mike Goodman, vice president of New Jersey Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 105, which represents about 7,000 Corrections officers, said the use of cell phones has made prisons less safe.

"They're getting more skillful in regards to communicating," he said. "It's tough to maintain control."

Fedkenheuer said 19 percent of inmates are formally identified as gang members. In its report, the SCI said a top Corrections official testified under oath that up to half the inmate population "may be involved in some way" with a gang.

The SCI report also said having the same investigators probe gangs in prison and potential corruption of prison employees hampered anti-gang efforts. It said corrections officers shied away from working with investigators "for fear that they will themselves become targets of investigation" while investigators "are leery of establishing a working relationship with many custody officers due to their concern over corruption within the uniformed ranks."

Fedkenheuer said that issue was resolved, citing "a clear line of demarcation" between the two functions the last two years.

But Layden said staffing shortages have forced some investigators to handle both responsibilities.

"We're still doing internal affairs work," he said. "It's a difficult task to one day talk to someone about a situation and the next day investigate them about another incident."

Chris Megerian may be reached at (609) 989-0208 or cmegerian@starledger.com.