The Morris County Correctional Facility was determined to be in full compliance with state standards following a surprise, yet mandatory annual inspection by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC).
The five-day inspection, launched when state inspectors visited the Morris Township-based facility from October 26 through October 30, included an audit of 270 mandated state standards regulating Security and Control, Sanitation, Food Service, Emergencies, Protective Custody, Inmate Classification, the Inmate Work Program, Medical, Dental, and Health Services, and more.
On November 9, Warden Christopher Klein received a report from NJDOC Assistant Commissioner Darcella Sessomes of the Division of Programs and Community Services confirming that the Morris County Correctional Facility was found to be in 100 percent compliance with all the requirements.
State auditors toured the entire correctional facility as they were escorted by Officer Mike Chereches, who compiles statistical data used to determine compliance with state standards.
Auditors spoke with both sworn officers and civilian staff members, as well as some of the 195 inmates who appeared to be satisfied with both the accommodations and the treatment they are receiving at the facility.
“I have the utmost confidence in my leadership team and the entire staff at the Morris County Correctional Facility," Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said. "Their relentless motivation for excellence is the reason surprise inspections like this go so well. My hat goes off to the men and women who dedicate themselves to making the Morris County Correctional Facility arguably one of the best facilities in the country.”
At the conclusion of the inspection, auditors advised Sheriff Gannon, as well as other top officials at the facility, that they were extremely pleased with what they had seen and heard during their week-long inspection.
They specifically commended Warden Klein for his leadership and commitment to assuring that the Morris County Correctional Facility was not only secure but also sanitary - a key factor in the facility’s successful inspection.
The correctional facility, operated under the Sheriff’s Bureau of Corrections, was accredited for the sixth (6th) consecutive time by the American Correctional Association (ACA) in 2019, as well as the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) in 2017.
Sheriff Gannon also is responsible for the Bureau of Law Enforcement, which manages mandated court services such as protection of the courthouse and serving judicial documents and warrants.
It also manages specialty divisions such as SERT (Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team), K-9 unit, bomb squad and crime scene investigation, which assists both local and federal law enforcement agencies.
The bureau also provides protection assistance to the U.S. Secret Service for the President of the United States.