The search for more effective alternatives to the solitary confinement of prisoners has spurred a partnership between a nonprofit and five correctional facilities, including the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center.
The North Brunswick-based correctional facility was chosen from among 14 applicants to partner with the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit that works to improve the justice system.
“Solitary confinement was initially conceived of to deal with the worst of the worst,” said Christine Herrman, director of the Vera Institute’s Safe Alternatives to Segregation initiative. “What it has kind of morphed into is the answer to all problems of discipline. … And it is used for very, very long terms.”
The Middlesex County Adult Correction Center was selected because the facility is representative of a typical county jail, Herrman said.
When Mark Cranston, warden for the Middlesex County Department of Corrections, learned that the Vera Institute of Justice was searching for applicants, he thought his facility would be a “perfect fit” and submitted an application.
Cranston said being chosen to work with the Vera Institute represents an opportunity to develop new practices that might serve as a model for corrections departments everywhere.
“The real benefits that could come out of this collaboration … would be a sound, safe, practical, progressive policy on segregation,” Cranston said. “The goal with Vera is to come out with the state-of-the-art book on how to do it.”
According to Herrman, over-reliance on solitary confinement fails to reduce violence in prisons. It also has profound psychological effects on the prisoner and a significant financial cost, she said.
Instead, prisons can employ a “gradual sanctioning” of prisoners who break the rules, using measures such as restricting commissary access and reducing outdoor time. Prisons can limit solitary confinement to necessary cases, she said. Safe Alternatives to Segregation, funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, advocates for a decrease in reliance on solitary confinement by providing effective alternatives.
“We have a process that we have been doing since 2010, and it involves a pretty complex analysis of three primary pockets of information,” Herrman said.
The process involves site visits and interviews with the staff and administration, a comprehensive policy review, and the analysis of administrative data to better understand how the facility uses segregation.
“We put all of that information together into a report that documents our findings, and from that we make recommendations for ways to effectively reduce the reliance on segregated housing,” Herrman said, adding that the process takes 12 to 14 months. Immediately after the report is issued, the Vera Institute will work alongside prison administrators to begin implementing the recommendations.
Cranston said the Middlesex County facility currently uses segregation as a means of protecting vulnerable prisoners or disciplining violent inmates.
“Our work with Vera will enhance our ongoing efforts to operate a safe and secure jail while providing inmates the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves,” Middlesex County Freeholder H. James Polos, chair of the county Public Safety and Health Committee, said.
“This collaboration will lead to a more thoughtful approach in the way that we manage the inmate population.”