Press Releases

Washington, DC -Today, Congressman Van Drew issued the following statement after a new report from the Office of New Jersey's Corrections Ombudsperson detailed overcrowding, extreme heat, and unsanitary conditions at Bayside State Prison in Cumberland County.

"For weeks, officials across New Jersey have been outraged over conditions at Delaney Hall," said Congressman Van Drew. "They have held press conferences, staged protests, and demanded investigations. But now a state watchdog has documented overcrowding, extreme heat, and unsanitary conditions inside a prison by the State of New Jersey itself. Where is the outrage now? According to the report, inmates are living in overcrowded cells, eating meals on their beds because the dining hall is closed, and enduring temperatures that reached into the 90s. Meanwhile, the American correctional officers who show up to work every day are expected to do their jobs in these same conditions.

"If New Jersey officials are truly concerned about conditions in detention facilities, they should start by fixing the ones they actually control. Instead of setting aside more than $20 million for legal defense for illegal immigrants, New Jersey should be using that money to improve conditions for the men and women working in our state prisons. American correctional officers deserve a safe work environment, and taxpayers deserve to know why these problems have been allowed to persist for so long."